Japan hopes US will return to TPP, but overhauling the pact now is difficult

Tokyo

JAPAN said that it welcomes a positive stance by the US towards an Asia-Pacific trade pact, but indicated that altering the agreement at this point would be very difficult.

Japan's chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), Kazuyoshi Umemoto, told Reuters that an agreement among the remaining 11 member nations, set to be signed next month, may have had an impact on the US. "We have been working, motivated by hopes that the United States would return to the trade pact soon. We welcome it becoming positive towards the TPP," Mr Umemoto said on Tuesday.

Japan took the lead in forging the revised trade pact after US President Donald Trump pulled America out of an earlier 12-nation version last year, saying that he wanted to seek one-on-one deals that would be more beneficial to the United States.

Eleven countries finalised the pact - now known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the TPP (CPTPP) - in January, and will sign it in Chile on March 8.

Last month, Mr Trump said at the World Economic Forum in Davos that it was possible that Washington might return to the pact if it got a better deal - a change of heart that Mr Umemoto said was probably because the 11 remaining members had clinched a new deal. "It probably was high-profile that we reached the agreement among the 11 nations since it was right before the Davos meeting. That probably had a certain impact," Mr Umemoto said. The final text of the CPTPP is expected to be published on Wednesday. The new deal does not make changes in the area of market access agreed on by the original 12 members and minimised the number of rule-related items that are frozen, he noted. "Still, it took us half a year to reach the agreement (for the TPP-11) with intensive talks," he said, when asked whether there was room to reopen talks to lure Washington back.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has rejected the idea of reopening talks on the delicately balanced pact, though some sources said that Tokyo might eventually act as a bridge to lure Washington back with minor changes that Mr Trump could sell back home as a victory.

Asked about suggestions that Britain might join the TPP trade bloc after it leaves the European Union, Mr Umemoto said that any country which endorses the agreement and is interested in joining would be welcome, regardless of its geographical location. REUTERS