The Ministry of Industry and Trade is making every endeavour to complete all required papers and to submit the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) to the National Assembly for ratification in the legislature’s session later this year.

Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang.

The Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson Le Thi Thu Hang told this news to reporters at the ministry’s regular press conference in Hanoi on July 19.

Responding to reporters’ questions about the possibility of expanding the CPTPP, Hang said the trade deal will enter into force 60 days after six of the signatories have finished ratifying it. Vietnam and other member states are conducting the necessary ratification procedures in line with each country’s related regulations.

The agreement will be soon implemented to boost win-win economic cooperation between member economies, as well as contribute to the regional economic growth and connectivity, she noted.

The CPTPP is an open agreement that allows other countries to join after the deal takes effect if they accept its principles and are approved by the member states, she added.

The original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) was signed by 12 countries in February 2016, but US President Donald Trump pulled his country from the deal upon his inauguration in January 2017.

The remaining 11 countries – namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam – signed the pact and renamed it the CPTPP during their meet-up in March 2018 in Chile.

The pact is expected to boost economic growth, create more jobs, reduce poverty, and improve the quality of life for people in the member countries.

The deal will create one of the world’s largest free trade blocs with a combined market of 499 million people and GDP of around 10.1 trillion USD, accounting for 13.5 percent of the global GDP.

Mexico, Japan and Singapore ratified the pact.-VNA