iStock/Thinkstock(HANOI, Vietnam) — Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership have decided to revive their controversial trade deal without the United States.
This comes after Trump signed an executive order in January withdrawing the U.S. from the trade agreement. But the 11 remaining countries met in Hanoi, Vietnam, this weekend to get the deal back on the table — and they agreed to keep the door open for the U.S.
But the Trump-appointed trade representative, Robert Lighthizer, said the U.S. would not return to the TPP.
“The United States pulled out of the TPP, and it’s not going to change that decision,” Lighthizer said at a news conference.
“I believe at some point there will be a series of bilateral agreements with partners in this part of the world,” he added. “Bilateral negotiations are better for the United States.”
The bid to resuscitate the TPP, which would’ve covered 40 percent of the global economy, was led by trade ministers from Japan, Australia and New Zealand, according to the BBC.
The remaining 11 countries pushing on with the deal are Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei.
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