The 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership countries officially left the U.S. behind this week by signing an amended agreement that does not include the United States.
The 11 nations signed what is now called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership the same day the U.S. moved to a more trade protectionist status, rolling out tariffs for steel and aluminum imports.
The new CPTPP will reduce tariffs in countries that together amount to more than 13 percent of the global economy, a total of $10 trillion in gross domestic product.
With the United States, it would have represented 40 percent.
Even without the United States, the deal will span a market of nearly 500 million people, making it one of the world’s largest trade agreements.
The trade agreement would have been worth roughly $4 billion a year for U.S. agriculture.
