With the US almost certainly out of the TPP, other members of the grouping are assessing their options. Countries like Australia, Japan and Chile have been discussing the idea of taking the TPP forward. These countries had invested years on end in negotiating a high-quality agreement to benefit the Asia-Pacific region which is hungry for trade and they are unwilling to see their efforts go waste.

Vietnam could have gained 14 per cent under the TPP as it would have become the hub of low-end manufactured goods like textiles and garments. Australia has decided to focus on bilateral agreements with the Pacific alliance states of Mexico, Chile, Columbia and Peru, and also pursue agreements with India, Indonesia and the EU.

The global trade environment could transform with the focus of countries being on bilateral trade deals and what suits them best. The US is negotiating bilateral deals with Japan, China and the EU. The TPP would have covered 40 per cent of the global GDP and nearly a third of world trade. The US could have accounted for nearly 60 per cent of the TPP’s GDP. The deal could also have unleashed potential gains of as much as $1.9 trillion in the Asia-Pacific region through free trade.