Pacific rim leaders scramble for trade options in Trump era

While campaigning for the presidential election which he won, Trump labeled the TPP a job-killing "disaster" and called for curbs on immigration and steeper tariffs on products from China and Mexico.

Though Obama championed the TPP as a way to counter China's rise, his administration has now stopped trying to win congressional approval for the deal that was signed by 12 economies in the Americas and Asia-Pacific, but excluded China. Without US approval the agreement as currently negotiated cannot come to fruition.

The Obama administration said China would be happy to take over the United States' role as global free-trade promoter.

"We see people around the table here right now talking about if the TPP does not move forward then they're going to have to put their eggs in the RCEP basket," US Trade Representative Michael Froman told journalists.

Froman said that RCEP would not have labor and environmental protections that are written into TPP.

Mexico, Japan, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore, however, aim to continue with TPP with or without the United States, Mexico's Economy Minister Ildefonso Guajardo said.

"We determined that our countries will press ahead with this agreement independently of what Washington decides," Guajardo said of the trade deal on Mexican radio. He said Mexico had not ruled out joining RCEP but was focusing on TPP.

Peru and Japan, on the other hand, signed a joint statement pledging to work harder to put into force the 12-nation accord.