The
chief negotiators of the 11 Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries have
agreed to aim to put the regional free trade deal into force under a new
framework, following the withdrawal of the US, according Kyodo news.
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Japan's
chief trade negotiator, Kazuyoshi Umemoto (left), meets the Canadian delegation
Wednesday morning in Hakone, Kanagawa Prefecture, before top officials from the
11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership members begin talks in the hot-spring
resort town - Source: Kyodo
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"The TPP was originally
signed by 12 members so for the pact to come into effect with 11 countries, we
need a new international agreement", Japan's chief negotiator Kazuyoshi
Umemoto said.
He added that the involved
parties have just agreed not to lower the level of the high-standard trade
rules contained in the original treaty.
The chief negotiators will
meet again in Australia in late August or early September to advance their
talks on the implementation of the deal before November, when their leaders
will gather for an Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum summit in Vietnam.
Following a meeting of the
11 countries' trade ministers in Hanoi in May, the negotiators have the task of
drawing up options to bring the pact into force at an early date and to
facilitate the possible return of the US.
Japan, the largest economy
among the 11, hopes to reach an agreement to change the requirements for
bringing the TPP into effect without revising the content of the pact.
The TPP was signed by
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru,
Singapore, the US, and Vietnam, covering around 40 percent of the global
economy.
Source:
VNA