The 11 remaining member nations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement are moving on with finalizing the agreement without the United States. Four months after the United States announced it would withdraw from the trade agreement, the remaining 11 TPP countries agreed to “launch a process to assess options to bring the comprehensive, high-quality agreement into force expeditiously, including how to facilitate membership for the original signatories.” The countries agreed on a November 10th deadline at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ summit in Vietnam. U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer says the move will not draw the U.S. back to the trade agreement, stressing the need for bilateral negotiations. TPP would be worth an estimated $4 billion to U.S. agriculture if the U.S. were included in the agreement.
From the National Association of Farm Broadcasting News Service.