It seems as though the TPP may be going forward, but is being rebranded slightly:
Countries in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal have agreed on the core elements to move ahead without the United States, officials said on Saturday, after last-minute resistance from Canada raised new doubts about its survival.
...
The agreement, which still needs to be finalised, would now be called the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he said.
That's quite a mouthful! Do the new words add anything useful?
Sure, the TPP is "comprehensive," in the sense that it covers a lot of issues, but don't all trade agreements these days do so? What does it add to use this word? Canada and the EU used it in CETA, and maybe Canada liked it so much there that they want to continue with it, but I'm not sure how crucial it is.
As to "progressive," will every trade agreement from here on out be "the most progressive trade agreement in history"? Most high-profile, self-proclaimed American progressives seem to oppose trade agreements, and referring to trade agreements as "progressive" hasn't seemed to help with that. But maybe things are different in other countries. I will note, though, that putting "progressive" in the title may make it harder for the U.S. to join at some later date, if anyone is still hoping for that.
