The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade agreement is in deep trouble. It has taken nine years to finalize this extremely important multilateral deal among the United States and 11 other countries. These countries — Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam — include developed nations with deep and rich trading ties to the United States, as well as emerging economies relatively new to global markets.
What they all shared was a commitment to try their best to overcome domestic political obstacles to expand the benefits of free trade. The final text was released publicly November 5, 2015, starting a legally required 90-day countdown before the president could sign it. This waiting period ended with the U.S. delegation joining representatives of the other countries in New Zealand on February 4 to ink the deal.