MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A new version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership deal between the remaining 11 Asia-Pacific nations will be finalized within three months, Chilean negotiator Eduardo Frei told Sputnik on Thursday.
"The agreement is almost ready…We will sign up to the outstanding clauses within 90 days," Frei, a former president of Chile, said.
Pacific Rim countries minus the United States reviewed the free trade draft during last month’s Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vietnam’s Da Nang. Frei said 20 to 30 clauses were still to be affirmed. They will be raised at the upcoming meetings.
The TPP pact aims to remove trade barriers among its signatories. It was originally signed in 2015 by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. In January, US President Donald Trump signed executive order on the US withdrawal from the agreement.