"The US position is disappointing but not unexpected as President Trump’s views have been clear for some time. It was our preference to have the US in TPP, but we still see value in the agreement without the US," McClay said.
New Zealand's minister added that in the coming days he would visit other countries signatories of this agreement to discuss the TPP’s future.
"We will continue to engage with our trading partners, including China, on advancing trade liberalization in the Asia-Pacific. We’ll also be talking to the US about their trade priorities, and how to deepen NZ-US trade ties," McClay stated.
On Thursday, leader of another TPP member country, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said that upon the US withdrawal from this deal, Tokyo could also reach other framework of trade relations between the two states, with bilateral trade relations, including the TPP accord, to be in the spotlight during the forthcoming Abe's visit to the United States in February.
The TPP agreement sought to remove trade barriers among its signatories, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam, which together account for 40 percent of the world's economy.
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