Home topics small-business-resources growth-import-export Growth | Import | Export Small Business Growth | Import | Export TPP Trumped: how are SME exporters affected? Ian Smith January 30, 2017 Whilst President Trump’s dumping of the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) is a blow to the Australian government, the move wasn’t unexpected – and media reports suggest the focus could now shift to including China as a centerpiece to a post-TPP multilateral trade bloc. Whilst this perhaps makes sense from a trade perspective – after all, China accounts for 26% of Australia’s total imports and exports (2015/16) – the political challenge will be to ensure Australia does not become the “meat in the sandwich” in any potential US / China trade war. Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said the government was willing to work with the other 10 participating countries (Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam) to find a way forward for the TPP, and Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull has suggested China could replace the USA in the TPP. Minister Ciobo also said Indonesia had expressed interest in involvement in the TPP – and that a reformulated agreement (without the US) would create enhanced market opportunities into markets like Canada and Mexico. “It also, of course, would reduce the cost of compliance, and that’s really important for Australian small to medium enterprises, who want lower barriers to trade,” he said. From a market perspective, President Trump’s move to withdraw from the TPP so far appears to have