Asia

Japanese Parliament Approves New Agreement on Trans-Pacific Partnership

TOKYO (Sputnik) - The Japanese Parliament's upper house on Wednesday passed a law ratifying the new Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement of 11 countries, not counting one original member, the United States.
Sputnik

The lower chamber of the Japanese parliament already approved the agreement in May.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership was signed in March after the United States' withdrawal. The new version of the agreement introduced changes in intellectual property rights, but left clauses on trade access, investment and state procurement unchanged.

Trump Says WTO, TPP Not Serving US Interests, Bilateral Deals More Profitable
US President Donald Trump has been critical of the partnership ever since his presidential campaign, pledging to withdraw. As a result, Trump signed a memorandum for US exit from the deal in January 2017.

The original TPP agreement was signed in 2016 and included Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

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