TPP trade deal can be reached without US: Malaysia

Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said on Friday, the 10th of November, that he was "reasonably confident" a deal on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) could be reached without the United States.

Trade ministers from the TPP countries met on Thursday, November 9th, but their meetings ended without making headway. It was unclear whether leaders of TPP countries would meet on Friday.

The TPP aims to eliminate tariffs on industrial and farm products across a bloc whose trade totalled $356 billion last year. It also has provisions for protecting everything from labour rights to the environment to intellectual property - one of the main sticking points.