Eleven countries that have been trying to forge an Asia-Pacific trading alliance finally agreed a revised deal yesterday, despite President Trump pulling out of talks.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership brings together Canada, Australia, Japan, New Zealand and Singapore. Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru and Vietnam are also involved in the agreement, which is expected to be given final approval in March at a ceremony in Chile. Justin Trudeau, the Canadian prime minister, told delegates at Davos that it was an “impressive, progressive” pact.
One of Mr Trump’s first acts as president was to pull the United States out of the TPP on the grounds that it disadvantaged America’s economic interests and those of its companies. He is also threatening to withdraw from the North American Free Trade Agreement, the treaty between the US, Mexico and Canada.
Mr Trump has also imposed tariffs on imported goods, including solar panels and washing machines, as part of his “America First” agenda.
•A universal basic income would be too expensive to work in advanced countries such as Britain, a former deputy governor of the Bank of England has said. Dame Minouche Shafik, director of the London School of Economics, warned that governments would have to put in place “some kind of floor on people’s incomes” as the labour market adjusted to automation, but she cautioned against the measure backed by John McDonnell, the shadow chancellor.