The 11 countries left behind by the United States revived the Trans-Pacific Partnership by keeping almost all of it and shelving what Washington had wanted. Two thirds of the new deal’s 30 chapters are identical to the old one, according to Matthew Goodman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Twenty-two provisions were suspended or changed.

They signed the result, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in Santiago, Chile, on March 8, 2018.

Why the US walked out

Twelve countries agreed the original TPP in 2015, the United States among them. Wendy Cutler, who helped negotiate it for the Obama administration, said the aim went beyond cutting tariffs. The members wanted to write rules for future trade, because the World Trade Organization had too many members to agree new deals.

The deal soon became a target. Both Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton attacked it during the 2016 campaign. Withdrawing was one of the first things Trump did as president, and the US announced its exit in 2017.

What the 11 kept and what they parked

The suspended clauses were mostly ones the US had pushed and the others did not much want. The biggest changes came in intellectual property and investment.

Patent protection for new medicines got shorter, and so did copyright terms for written works. Investors lost some of their power to sue governments over mining and oil deals. Goodman called the shorter medicine patents a blow to American drug companies.

Other parts survived untouched. The chapters on state-owned enterprises, e-commerce and government procurement stayed as they were.

The members also lowered the bar for the deal to take effect, so it no longer needed the US to ratify it. It would start 60 days after six of the 11 had ratified. That happened in 2018, and the CPTPP entered into force in December of that year.

What the US gave up

The 11 founding members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. At signing they made up nearly 13.5% of world GDP.

CSIS gave a concrete cost. Under the CPTPP, Australian beef sold in Japan pays a 9% tariff, while American beef still faces 38%. A Peterson Institute study cited by CSIS estimated the US went from a $131 billion gain under the TPP to a $2 billion loss under the new deal.

The club has since grown. The UK signed on July 16, 2023, as the first new member since the pact began. China and Taiwan have both sought to join, the BBC reported.