Japan says TPP "meaningless" without US, but still hopes to save pact

Will We Be Fooled Again? Stop the TPP!

TOKYO Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said Tuesday he would continue to advocate free trade, and officials said they hadnt given up on the Trans-Pacific Partnership despite President Donald Trumps decision to withdraw from the deal.

Government spokesman Koichi Hagiuda said it was meaningless to have the TPP without the U.S. and Tokyo wasnt considering revising it excluding Washington.

Opinion Journal: Asia Trade Deal: Dead (2:54)

Editorial Page Editor Paul Gigot on the U.S. withdrawal from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership. Photo: EPA

Without the U.S., it would lose the fundamental balance of benefits, Hagiuda said at a regular news conference. Trump formally took the U.S. out of the 12-nation tpp on monday.

hagiuda and trade minister Hiroshige Seko said Japan hadnt given up on persuading Trump to change his mind. We want to continue to explain to the U.S. about the strategic and economic merits of the TPP, Seko said. He said Abe spoke by phone with Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull on Monday and reaffirmed the significance of the TPP.

An expanded version of this report appears on WSJ.com.

Also popular on WSJ.com:

Donald Trump embarks on his first week with a heavy slate.

U.S. eyes Michael Flynns links to Russia.

Source: http://www.marketwatch.com/story/japan-says-tpp-meaningless-without-us-but-still-hopes-to-save-pact-2017-01-23