The United States on Monday completed its withdrawal from the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal by officially notifying the 11 other member states.
The Office of the U.S. Trade Representative sent letters of intent to Japan and other TPP members, with President Donald Trump apparently eager to seek talks with Tokyo on a bilateral free trade agreement when he meets Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Feb. 10 in Washington.
Monday's action paves the way for the Trump administration to pursue bilateral trade deals that it believes will benefit American workers and industry in line with its "America First" mantra, rather than multilateral ones like the TPP.