Jan. 24 (UPI) — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Tuesday announced that Canada and 10 other nations concluded talks to form a new trade deal styled after the now-defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership will include all countries that were previously attached to the TPP except the United States, which backed out of the trade agreement at the direction of President Donald Trump shortly after he assumed office last year.
Trudeau said the new agreement contains numerous changes that increase benefits for Canadian workers.
“Canada has always said that we would only agree to a deal that is in Canada’s best interests,” Trudeau said in a statement. “To that end, Canada has been working very hard on the new CPTPP, from spearheading the first meetings of officials in May 2017 to proposing several suspensions and changes to secure better terms for Canadians throughout this burgeoning region.”
The other nations included in the deal are Japan, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, New Zealand, Chile, Peru, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia and Vietnam.
Asia Trade Centre director Deborah Elms told the National Business Review that Canada was the only nation out of the 11 that had still been “wavering” on whether to join the deal, but that Canada’s qualms were resolved after only two days of talks.
Canadian officials said they hope to have the deal signed by all 11 countries in early March.
