Trans Pacific Partnership not only egg in the basket, Steve Ciobo says

After meeting with US trade officials in Lima, Steve Ciobo refuses to declare the free trade deal dead just yet.

Australia's Trade Minister Steve Ciobo. Picture: AAP.

Australia was not giving up hope on the $27 trillion Trans Pacific Partnership following a meeting today between Trade Minister Steve Ciobo and US trade officials.

Emerging from a bi-lateral meeting with US Trade ambassador Michael Froman, ahead of this weekend’s APEC leaders’ summit in Peru, Mr Ciobo refused to declare the unprecedented free trade deal dead just yet.

“The US consideration of the TPP is now a legislative decision of the US Congress and whether to ratify, the timing of it and the circumstances will be dictated by Republican Congressional leadership,” he told The Australian.

“It is important for us to wait and see how things play out over the next few months.

“It is too early to know what the Trump administration might do…it is too early for Congressional leadership to know what they might do.

“It is prudent for Australia to pause and watch as US events unfold.”

Tearing up the TPP, a 12-country free trade pact which included the US, Australia and other pacific-rim countries excluding China was a pledge at the centre of Mr Trump’s presidential campaign for a more protectionist trade policy.

Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull will arrive in Lima early Friday morning local time with the future of the TPP, and the impact of a Trump administration for regional trade, poised to be a key issue among leaders.

With the likely collapse of the deal, China is expected to try and fill the vacuum and will use APEC to push for its own proposal for a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP) without the US.

Mr Ciobo has said without the US, there was no TPP but without a TPP, Australia would pursue other trade deals.

Member nations of the TPP combined represented a population of 819 million people and trade worth $226 billion to Australia.

The unprecedented agreement had the potential to drive significant job growth through new export opportunities, a lower tariff and more seamless trade environment across the entire Asia Pacific region.

TPP members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.

Military officials within the US Pacific Command were supportive of the TPP as a means of embedding US “soft power” in the Asia Pacific region.

TPP ‘not the only egg in the basket’

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has admitted a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership is “less likely than likely” following the election of Donald Trump.

But Mr Ciobo, who is attending the APEC forum of Asia-Pacific leaders in Lima with Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull, said the TPP was “not the only egg in the basket,” and Australia was continuing to pursue the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership with countries including China and India.

“It’s our continued view that the Trans-Pacific Partnership does represent opportunity — not only for Australia, but we’d argue for all 12 member states that reached agreement around the TPP — but we’ve got to be realistic as well, and that is that it would appear that the United States congressional ratification of the TPP is less likely than likely,” Mr Ciobo told ABC radio.

“But you know, there’s up to 24 months for the TPP to be implemented. We’re still only in the first eight or nine months of that process.”

He said he would pursue the RCEP while the fate of the TPP remained uncertain.

“It has the potential, given it’s more than 50 per cent of the global population, more than 30 per cent of global GDP, it’s a potentially very big, important trade deal that if we’re able to successfully land it over the coming months or year or so ahead, would create a terrific opportunity for Australian businesses to export through a common set of rules across the region,” he said.

Mr Ciobo was reluctant to comment on BHP chief Jac Nasser’s warning of “complete trauma” for the world economy if president-elect Trump proceeds with plans to lift the tariff on Chinese imports to America to 45 per cent.

“I can truthfully say that no one has discussed with me this issue in relation to tariffs,” he said.

- Rachel Baxendale