The trade deal once touted as a hallmark of U.S. efforts to check China's rise has at last crossed the finish line -- without its one-time leader. (Stratfor)This deal has brought to fruition a decadelong process that saw the United States first try to build a regional trade architecture excluding China then abruptly abandon it under U.S. President Donald Trump. Washington hoped to fundamentally remake existing regional trade architecture, slowly adding new partners into its orbit as the U.S.-centric bloc gradually expanded. Yet, regardless of the deal, the United States and China will continue to be the center of the Pacific trade architecture. The CPTPP countries will present enticing opportunities for outreach, though this is unlikely to take the form of a grand trade deal (as imagined in TPP).

Source: Forbes March 08, 2018 19:18 UTC