Japan and other Asia-Pacific members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) [NYT backgrounder] agreed Sunday to move forward with their deal despite the US’ withdrawal. Trade ministers from the 11 remaining countries met in Hanoi, Vietnam [Reuters report], to plan how to proceed without the US. A possible impediment to continuing the deal is keeping Vietnam and Malaysia on board as one of their motivations for committing was gaining better access to US markets. Trade representatives also agreed [BBC report] to help the US rejoin the partnership at any time. US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer [official website] said [Reuters report] that the US would not be returning to the TPP but would still engage with the region in bilateral negotiations. The 11 countries that remain in the partnership are Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei

In January, as one of his first moves in office, US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum [JURIST report] removing the US from the TPP on that grounds that he feared it would have harmed domestic American labor. The move represented a fulfillment of a campaign promise [JURIST report] for Trump, and a repudiation of one of former president Barack Obama’s most ambitious accomplishments, first passed in June of 2015 [JURIST report]. A statement [text] on the official White House website suggests that the president intended to use a threat of similar withdrawal from NAFTA [official website] to renegotiate the trade deal with Canada and Mexico. Last week Robert Lighthizer sent a letter [text] to Congress communicating the Trump administration’s intention to begin the process of renegotiating. However, concerns remain that withdrawing or threatening to do so from such trade deals such like the TPP could ultimately be to the nation’s detriment long term; Senator John McCain issued a statement [text] concerning the TPP cancellation, calling it a “serious mistake” that will have “lasting consequences” for America’s economy.