Asia-Pacific nations sign sweeping trade deal without U.S.

Eleven Asia-Pacific countries have just signed the trade pact formerly known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Although the US pulled out last year, the deal was salvaged by the remaining members, who signed it at a ceremony in the Chilean city of Santiago.

The deal came as U.S. President Donald Trump vowed earlier in the day to press ahead with a plan to impose tariffs on steel and aluminum imports, a move that other nations and the International Monetary Fund said could start a global trade war.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will reduce tariffs in countries that together amount to more than 13 percent of the global economy - a total of $10 trillion in the gross domestic product. With the United States, it would have represented 40 percent.

Its main purpose is to slash trade tariffs between member countries.

But it also seeks to reduce so-called non-tariff measures, which create obstacles to trade through regulations.

There are chapters which aim to harmonies these regulations or at least make them transparent and fair.

In January, Trump signaled the U.S. was reconsidering its policy at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. He said the U.S. would be willing to rejoin the agreement if the U.S. could get “a much better deal than we had.”

The Trump administration is currently renegotiating another trade deal, The North American Free Trade Agreement with Canada and Mexico. It is also set to approve taxes of 25 percent on steel and 10 percent on aluminum imports to protect those industries.

The revised agreement eliminates some requirements of the original TPP demanded by U.S. negotiators, including rules to ramp up intellectual property protection of pharmaceuticals. Governments and activists of other member nations worry the changes will raise the costs of medicine.

The final version of the agreement was released in New Zealand on Feb. 21. The member countries are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.