(VOVworld) – The Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement was signed by 12 countries in February 2016 after 5 years of negotiations.  The TPP is now in a two-year ratification period. US President-elect Trump has said he will withdraw the US from the TPP.

A meeting of the leaders of the 12 TPP member states on the sideline of the APEC summit in Peru

US President-elect Donald Trump has said he will withdraw the US from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which he says would be a disaster for the US economy. According to Mr. Trump, he wants to negotiate a farer deal that will generate jobs and boost US manufacturing. He also wants to review immigrant visa programs which have taken jobs away from Americans and remove environmental regulations restricting oil, gas, and coal. During his campaign, Mr. Trump called the TPP a horrible deal which would send American jobs to countries with cheaper labor.

Despite Mr. Trump’s opposition, leaders from other TPP members (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) have agreed to keep working toward the TPP. On the sidelines of the APEC meeting in Lima, Peru, leaders from the TPP countries reaffirmed their commitment to push for ratification. They underscored the deal’s economic and strategic importance. US President Barack Obama said his administration will rally US support for the TPP and he urged other countries to work together for final approval.

Singaporean Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong said his country will revise its laws in order to ratify the TPP next year. He said the TPP will integrate economies and set a high standard for trade in the Asia-Pacific region while ensuring regional security, prosperity, and stability.  “The TPP without the US it is a new agreement. The “12 minus one” will have to get together and sign an agreement with a different coming-into-effect clause,” Lee said.

The parliaments of Japan and Malaysia have already ratified the TPP, and New Zealand is close to ratifying it.