Australia today became the sixth country to ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) free trade agreement, which will come into effect at the end of this year.
The goal of the agreement is to facilitate trade and reduce tariffs to enable greater business activity between the signatories, which together have nearly 500 million inhabitants and a GDP of $13.500 trillion.
"Our ratification means we guarantee maximum benefits for our farmers and businesses," said Australian Trade Minister Simon Birmingham.
According to him, by 2030, thanks to the agreement, Australia will have an annual profit of over 15,5 billion dollars.
After the USA announced in early 2017 that it was withdrawing from the TPP, the remaining 11 signatories amended the agreement so that it could function without Washington's participation.
The agreement was also ratified by Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico and Singapore.
The US withdrawal was a huge loss given the size of the US market.
However, other countries have expressed interest in joining the agreement, which is considered the first step towards a pan-Pacific free trade zone.
US President Donald Trump has stated that he "puts America first" when he wants bilateral rather than broad agreements like the TPP.
But U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said earlier this year that the U.S. could consider rejoining the TPP once more pressing issues are resolved.
The TPP has not yet been ratified by Vietnam, Malaysia, Peru, Chile and Brunei.
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