Hanoi (VNA) – New Zealand TradeMinister Todd McClay called on the 11 remaining member countries of the Trans-PacificPartnership (TPP) agreement to discuss the next step for the trade deal afterthe US pulled out.

The New Zealand trade chief made the statementin Tokyo on February 8 during his visit to Japan to hear the views of other TPPmembers regarding the future of the pact.

During an interview with Japan’s Kyodo News inTokyo, he said a meeting of ministers from the TPP member countries could takeplace in Chile in March, adding that "It's too soon for us to give up on thatachievement after nine years of negotiation," describing the deal as a"high quality" agreement.

According to McClay, there are a range of viewsamong the countries but one option could be going ahead with the trade dealeven without the US.

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP) is "complementary" and not a replacement for the TPP, he said.

The Japanese government is weighing thepossibility of sending a representative to Chile next month, when a meeting ofthe Pacific Alliance - a Latin American trade bloc - will be held, according toa government source.

During the visit, McClay met with JapaneseEconomic and Fiscal Policy Minister Nobuteru Ishihara.

The TPP was signed in Auckland, New Zealand, inFebruary 2016 after more than five years of negotiation. The agreement was thepillar of the Obama administration's strategic “pivot” to Asia.

According to experts, if the original deal had becomeeffective it would have added nearly 300 billion USD per year to the world’sgross domestic product.

However, the US under the administration ofPresident Donald Trump has withdrawn from the pact.

The eleven TPP nations are Australia, Brunei,Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, andVietnam. Japan is the first nation to have ratified the agreement.

In 2016, New Zealand approved a law allowing itsgovernment to ratify the deal.

McClay plans to take a trip to Washington topush for the US’s approval of the TPP.-VNA