CPTPP more crucial than before amid rising protectionism
But beyond being a commitment to free trade, the revised TPP pact is a nod to ideals such as transparency, e-commerce and data security
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Janice Heng
Singapore
AT 2am this Friday morning, Singapore time (3pm on March 8 in Chile), the remaining 11 members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) met in Santiago to sign a revised version of the trade pact, definitively overcoming the existential threat posed by United States' withdrawal in January last year.
The pact is inarguably diminished by the loss of its largest partner. Yet the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) which replaces it is nonetheless a significant achievement - and perhaps of greater importance than before, in the face of growing protectionism today.
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