Foreign media: Vietnam, Japan call on US to rejoin CPTPP
Vietnam and Japan on September 13 urged the US to rejoin the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) deal, now renamed Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), almost two years after US President Donald Trump withdrew from the deal, according to the AFP news agency.
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| Officials of the CPTPP member nations at the deal signing ceremony in Chile last March (Photo: AFP/VNA) |
The AFP report quoted Japanese Foreign Minister Taro Kono, speaking at the World Economic Forum on ASEAN in Hanoi, as saying that CPTPP members believe that the agreement is still the best option for the US, and that it will be very attractive for US industries and farmers to join it. He added that the pact could be going into effect by the end of the year.
Vietnam's Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh echoed Kono's appeal, calling the deal "a very high-standard agreement".
The TPP used to be negotiated by 12 countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, and the US.
After the US withdrew from the TPP, the remaining 11 members still strived to continue the deal and renamed it CPTPP, which was officially signed in Chile on March 8.
They said they would leave a door open for the US’s re-participation and new members.
Last April, President Trump said the US would only join the CPTPP if the deal was improved.
The CPTPP is expected to promote economic growth, create more jobs, reduce poverty, and improve the living standards of people in member countries. It will create one of the biggest free trade blocs in the world, with a combined market of some 499 million people and total GDP of 10.1 trillion USD, accounting for 13.5 percent of the global GDP.
