Japan, 10 Other Nations Sign New TPP

Santiago, March 8 (Jiji Press)--Japan and 10 other countries signed a document on a new Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact in the Chilean capital of Santiago on Thursday afternoon. The move came after the 11 nations reached a broad agreement on the new pact last November, after the United States under the administration of President Donald Trump withdrew from the original 12-nation TPP in early 2017. The other 10 members of the new TPP are Brunei, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Chile, Mexico and Peru. The government of Japan, which leads the 11-member TPP, plans to submit related domestic bills to the ongoing regular session of the Diet, the country's parliament, aiming to put the pact into effect in 2019. Prior to the signing, the 11 countries held a ministerial meeting earlier on Thursday. From Japan, economic revitalization minister Toshimitsu Motegi took part in the talks. Motegi also held bilateral meetings with ministers from countries including Australia. The new TPP will go into effect 60 days after a majority of the member countries complete domestic procedures. The 11 countries together account for 13 pct of global gross domestic product, 7 pct of the world population and 15 pct of global trade. The 11 plus the United States account for some 40 pct of world GDP. END