Yesterday President Donald Trump officially abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement, just as he'd promised during the campaign. The TPP, as it is known, was a pending deal between the U.S. and 11 other nations. You can read more, and listen to our podcast about it, here.

Not surprisingly, trade advocates in Washington – the most trade-dependent state in the nation – are concerned. As the Puget Sound Business Journal reports,

Washington exported $27 billion in goods to Trans-Pacific Partnership countries in 2014, which include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. More than 6,000 Washington companies exported goods to TPP countries in 2013, according to the International Trade Administration.

The Washington Council on International Trade (WCIT) issued a statement yesterday:

WCIT has been a strong and consistent supporter of the TPP because it promised far-reaching benefits to tradedependent Washington state, where 40 percent of our jobs are tied to trade…

The TPP moved us forward in so many positive ways, and it is a shame to let go of all those benefits. It would have ensured U.S. exporters could sell their goods and services in TPP countries on a level-playing field with foreign competitors, something they now cannot do. It would have streamlined complex rules and regulations that make doing business abroad difficult, protected a free and open internet, enabled cross-border data flows, and raised standards on labor and the environment. The TPP would have also enabled the U.S. to take on a leadership role in the fast-growing Asia-Pacific region.
 
Though we are disappointed about the withdrawal from the TPP, WCIT looks forward to finding ways to work with the administration on new opportunities to expand and improve our trade relationships, drive job creation and economic growth, and increase Washington state’s international competitiveness.

As Bloomberg News reports, trade advocates are now pinning their hopes on indications from the Trump administration that other types of trade deals may be more acceptable:

The Business Roundtable, which supported the agreement, urged the new administration to continue to pursue trade agreements in Asia to give the U.S. a competitive advantage.

“The fact that our major foreign competitors — China and the European Union — are moving forward with their own trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific will make it even more difficult for the United States to compete,” Tom Linebarger, CEO of Cummins Inc. and chair of the Business Roundtable International Engagement Committee, said in a statement.

White House spokesman Sean Spicer said the administration intends to pursue bilateral trade agreements with individual countries, which could give the U.S. more bargaining power than being part of large group negotiations. Trade deals can take years to hammer out, so it could be some time before any of those are in place.