The 11 countries forming the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are now beginning their domestic processes to ratify the accord, with the hopes of bringing it into force “expeditiously,” possibly even this year or in early 2019. The CPTPP was signed by ministers in the Chilean capital city of Santiago last week. Its signatories include 11 of the 12 original Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) countries, namely Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, which together make up 13.5 percent of global GDP. The United States withdrew from the TPP over a year ago. These 11 countries will now need to pass the CPTPP through their respective ratification processes, which will start immediately for most signatories, including New Zealand and Mexico, according to remarks from ministers at the joint press conference following the signing ceremony. “The signing of the Agreement enables us to move to the next phase. Ministers expressed their determination to complete their domestic processes to bring the Agreement into force expeditiously,” said a joint ministerial statement issued at the event. New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth David Parker estimated that his country could ratify the deal by year’s...