MOSCOW (Sputnik) – Guajardo stressed in a Friday interview with Radio Formula that the countries involved in the TPP will continue with the treaty, "regardless of what Washington decides." According to the minister, Australia, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore have already agreed to cooperate further on the TPP issue.
US President Barack Obama is likely to discuss the TPP issue with his partners over the weekend at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Lima, Peru. The trade deal is at risk after Donald Trump's surprising victory in the US presidential elections. Trump vowed to scrap the TPP several times during his campaign calling it a "terrible deal."
Republican leaders in Congress have said in the week since the US presidential election on November 8 that they won't be scheduling a vote on the TPP this year. A vote is unlikely once lawmakers reconvene in early 2017, due to the opposition of Trump, who takes office as president on January 20.
The TPP seeks to remove barriers to trade among its 12 signatories, which together account for 40 percent of the world's economy: the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
