TOKYO, Sept. 15 (Xinhua) -- Top negotiators from the 11 remaining Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members will hold a meeting in Japan next week to discuss changing or freezing parts of the trade pact after the withdrawal of the United States, the Japanese government said on Friday.
The talks, to run for two days starting from Thursday, would be focused on parts of the pact such as government procurement and the protection of intellectual property, as the 11 member countries are aiming to complete preparatory work by November to put the deal into force, local media reported.
The leaders of the 11 countries are expected to meet on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Vietnam in November.
Under current rules, to make the TPP pact come into effect, at least six original signatories have to have successfully ratified the agreement and those six signatories, between them, must represent 85 percent of the total GDP of the 12 original signatories.
As the United States which represents nearly 62 percent of the TPP GDP, has drawn out of the TPP, it's impossible to ratify the pact for the TPP to come into effect under current rules.
The TPP deal originally involved Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam. It was formally signed by ministers from these 12 countries in February last year after more than five years' negotiation.
U.S. President Donald Trump announced in January the withdrawal of the United States from the TPP, saying it would hurt the interests of his countries.
