Asia should go ahead with TPP trade deal without US: report

Hong Kong

ASIAN countries should pursue a Pacific trade pact even after the United States walked away, and its standards should be incorporated into other regional deals, according to a report authored by half a dozen former trade envoys.

President Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in one of his first acts as US president, throwing an agreement that covered 40 per cent of the global economy into disarray.

That's left the other nations scrambling on what to do: either try and proceed without the US, hope Mr Trump changes his mind (or Congress does), or prioritise a s…