Australia will push the case for a Pacific trade deal without the U.S. at a meeting with other potential members in Chile next month, Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership remains "absolutely" relevant without the U.S. and the text of the accord would only need minor tweaking to allow for America's withdrawal, Ciobo said Wednesday.
"There were a lot of hard-fought gains that were achieved over intense negotiations over many years in relation to the TPP," Ciobo said. "I don't want, and I know a number of other countries don't want, those gains to slip through our fingers."