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Britain, New Zealand would consider altering trade partnership to entice US to join: top negotiators
- Terms of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, whose precursor Donald Trump ditched, could be revisited
- New Zealand official describes US absence as ‘source of immense regret’ and says bloc continues ‘updating and upgrading’ deal
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Britain and New Zealand would consider altering the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership to entice the US to join, its chief trade negotiators said on Wednesday.
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Asked whether New Zealand, the trade bloc’s current chair, would be open to changing labour and “rules of origin” commitments in the CPTPP if the US were interested in joining, its deputy trade and economic secretary Vangelis Vitalis said: “We’re in an ongoing process of updating and upgrading the existing agreement”.
“If the United States was to find a way to become an aspirant to submit an application, that would certainly be one of the conversations,” he added.
Vitalis, speaking at an event hosted by the Washington-based Centre for Strategic and International Studies, also said it was a “source of immense regret” to see the US not be a part of the bloc.
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The CPTPP rose from the ashes of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the 12-member alliance Donald Trump withdrew the US from on his first full day as president in 2017.
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