Japan says trans-Pacific trade pact, without U.S., to be signed in March

TOKYO - Eleven countries aiming to forge a new Asia-Pacific trade pact after the United States pulled out of an earlier version will hold a signing ceremony in Chile in March, Japan's economy minister said on Tuesday, in a big win for Tokyo.

Trade officials from the 11 countries had been meeting in Tokyo to try to resolve rifts including Canada's insistence on protection of its cultural industries such as movies, TV and music.

An agreement is a huge plus for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government, which has been lobbying hard to save the pact, originally called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the original 12-nation trade agreement last year.

Abe has painted the deal as a spur to growth and reform in Japan and a symbol of commitment to free and multilateral trade at a time when Trump is stressing "America First" policies.

Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said that the new agreement, known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP), or TPP-11, would be an "engine to overcome protectionism" emerging in parts of the world.

He also said Japan would explain the importance of the deal to Washington in hopes of persuading it to join.

Ministers from the 11 countries including Japan, Australia and Canada had agreed in November on core elements to move ahead without the United States, but demands by countries including Canada for measures to ensure the deal protects jobs have been a sticking point to finalizing the agreement.

"This outcome reaffirms the CPTPP countries' collective commitment towards greater trade liberalization and regional integration," Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week that the new agreement would leave a door open for eventual U.S. participation.

Canada, which has sought protection of its cultural industries, and Vietnam, which has worried about labor protection rules, will exchange separate side letters with other members on those respective topics at the time of the signing, Motegi said.

The precise content of the letters will not be revealed until then, a Japanese official added. (Additional reporting by Jack Kim in Singapore; Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by Nick Macfie and Richard Borsuk) </s> Japan on Friday ratified the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a free-trade pact aimed at linking a dozen Pacific Rim nations, hoping it will one day take effect despite President-elect Donald Trump’s pledge that the United States will withdraw from it.

The TPP, which aims to cut trade barriers in some of Asia’s fastest-growing economies but does not include China, can not take effect without the United States.

The deal, which has been five years in the making, requires ratification by at least six countries accounting for 85 per cent of the combined gross domestic product of the member nations.

Given the sheer size of the American economy, the deal cannot go ahead without U.S. participation.

It has not been ratified by the U.S. Senate and Trump last month promised to withdraw from it after he is inaugurated in January. Instead, he would replace it with bilaterally negotiated trade deals.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the TPP would be “meaningless without the United States”.

But by ratifying the deal in parliament on Friday, Japan is signalling it hopes the accord can be resuscitated when conditions are more favourable.

Government officials said the trade pact would essentially go into deep freeze but that they would not abandon hope of reviving it in future.

Taro Kono, a senior lawmaker of Abe’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party, said there was a chance that Trump would change his mind.

New Zealand Prime Minister John Key joked last month that it would be fine with him to rename the agreement Trump Pacific Partnership if that would convince the president-elect to get on board, media reported. </s> TOKYO, Jan 23 (Reuters) - Eleven countries aiming to forge a new Asia-Pacific trade pact after the United States dropped out of an earlier version last year will hold a signing ceremony in Chile in March, Kyodo news agency said on Tuesday, citing a Japanese source.

Trade officials from the 11 countries have been meeting in Tokyo to try to resolve rifts including Canada's insistence on protection of its cultural industries such as movies, TV and music.

Japan has been lobbying hard to save the pact, originally called the Trans-Pacific Partnership, after President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the original 12-nation trade agreement last year. The new deal is known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP), or TPP-11. (Writing by Linda Sieg; Editing by Nick Macfie) </s> TOKYO (Reuters) - Eleven countries aiming to forge a Asia-Pacific trade pact after the United States pulled out of an earlier version will sign an agreement in Chile in March, Japan’s economy minister said on Tuesday, in a big win for Tokyo.

Trade officials had been meeting in Tokyo to resolve rifts including Canada’s insistence on protections for its cultural industries such as movies, TV and music.

An agreement is a win for Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government, which has been lobbying hard to save the pact, originally called the Trans-Pacific Partnership. In one of his first acts as U.S. president in January 2017, Donald Trump pulled the United States out of the original 12-nation treaty.

Abe has painted the deal as a spur to growth and reform in Japan and a symbol of commitment to free and multilateral trade at a time when Trump stresses “America First” policies.

A Canadian government source confirmed Ottawa would sign on to the deal, saying it had “secured real gains.”

These included cultural protections and the suspension of investment provisions Canada objected to, said the source, who declined to be identified given the sensitivity of the situation.

Japanese Economy Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the new Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTTP), or TPP-11, would be an “engine to overcome protectionism” emerging in parts of the world.

He added Japan would explain the importance of the deal to Washington in hopes of persuading it to join.

Ministers from the 11 countries, including Japan, Australia and Canada, agreed in November on core elements to move ahead without the United States, but demands by countries including Canada for measures to ensure the deal protects jobs blocked a final agreement.

“This outcome reaffirms the CPTPP countries’ collective commitment towards greater trade liberalization and regional integration,” Singapore’s Ministry of Trade and Industry said in a statement.

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull said last week the new agreement would leave a door open for eventual U.S. participation.

Canada, which wanted protection of its cultural industries, and Vietnam, which has worried about labor protection rules, will exchange separate side letters with other members on those topics at the time of the signing, Motegi said.

The timing of the deal is significant for Canada, which is trying to diversify its exports. Talks with Mexico and the United States on modernizing the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have run into trouble and may fail.
Japan ratifies the Trans-Pacific Partnership.