The Economist explains

What on earth is the CPTPP?

A new trade block emerges from the ashes of the TPP

By A.F.

THE prospects for global trade look bleak. Donald Trump has signed controversial orders imposing heavy tariffs on steel and aluminium. China and the EU have threatened to retaliate. But while potential trade wars are hogging the headlines, they are not on the agenda everywhere. On March 8th trade ministers from 11 countries gathered in Santiago, the capital of Chile, to sign the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP. What is this (clunkily acronymised) new deal?

More from The Economist explains

What is a carry trade?

Borrowing cheaply to buy high-yielding assets is popular, but risky

The significance of liquid water on Mars

There could be an ocean’s worth deep underground


Why Russian troops are attacking on motorbikes

New conditions give rise to new tactics


What is “two-tier” policing?

The conspiratorial belief has spread online, fuelling disorder in Britain

Would legal doping change the Olympics?

The impact would be smaller—and worse—than proponents of drug-taking claim

Do vice-presidential picks matter?

If they have any effect on an election’s result, it is at the margins