According to a BBC report a study by the Peterson Institute had shown that Malaysia’s economy would have grown by 5.5 per cent by 2025 if the TPP were to be in place.

One reason for this is that the TPP would have given Malaysia access to the US for its palm oil exports.

The BBC report lists out winners and losers in the region following the decision of US President-elect Donald Trump to dump the TPP even before it had got off the ground.

Despite the US and 11 other nations signing up to the deal – covering 40 per cent of the world economy – Trump had repeatedly said on the election campaign trail that he was against it.

The demise of the TPP might have lasting economic and political repercussions, said the BBC report.

Singapore’s Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong, speaking at the White House earlier this year, had warned what might happen if the US were to pull out of the agreement.

Lee said: “If, at the end, waiting at the altar, the bride doesn’t arrive, I think there are people who are going to be very hurt, not just emotionally but really damaged for a long time to come.”

Singapore, of course, is another of the losers. Singapore was one of the co-founders of the TPP’s predecessor, and was a big backer of the deal in the region.

Depending on trade for growth, Singapore had hoped to benefit from an increase in services such as shipping and trade financing that it was expecting to follow from more regional and global trade, said the BBC report.

According to the Petersen Institute, Vietnam would have benefitted the most from the TPP because it is still a relatively closed economy.

The TPP would have given it tariff free access for its rice, seafood, textiles and low-end manufactured goods. Some estimates say Vietnam could have seen a 10 per cent boost to its economy by 2025 under the TPP, said the report.
The biggest winner following the demise of the TPP is China, which was not part of the TPP.

The BBC report said China was now well placed to step into the US’s global footprint with its regional trade deal alternative, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership deal, and it’s massive and expensive One Belt One Road (obor) initiative, which aims to build roads, ports and highways through much of Asia.

Other countries that have not joined the TPP – such as Thailand, the Philippines, Laos and Cambodia – could also stand to gain from RCEP and obor, the report said.

In effect, China may take over the role of the US in this region, and Trump may have just handed Beijing the chance it has been looking for.