World leaders reach agreement on trade deal without United States: report

Top officials from 11 countries said Friday that they had reached a deal on a trade agreement that does not involve the United States, according to a new report.

The Associated Press reported that trade officials from 11 countries have reached an agreement on the “core elements” of the trade deal. Those 11 countries, plus the U.S., signed the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2016.

“Ministers are pleased to announce that they have agreed on the core elements of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership,” the 11 nations said in a statement.

{mosads}According to the AP, the statement said the officials worked to preserve “the high standards, overall balance and integrity of the TPP while ensuring the commercial and other interests of all participants and preserving our inherent right to regulate, including the flexibility of the parties to set legislative and regulatory priorities.”

President Trump pulled the United States out of the Trans-Pacific Partnership in January, shortly after taking office.

“We’ve been talking about this for a long time,” Trump said at the time, adding that leaving the agreement was a “great thing for the American worker.”

The remaining 11 countries, all of which border the Pacific Ocean, are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. 

Trump had previously blasted the agreement, calling it a “potential disaster for our country” and campaigned on removing the United States from the deal.

Former Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton and Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), her opponent in the Democratic presidential primary, had also opposed the TPP, a signature trade accomplishment of former President Obama.

Trump faced some Republican blowback for withdrawing the U.S. from the deal, with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) calling it “a serious mistake.”

— Updated 8:25 p.m.