Leaders of Australia, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam have agreed to the outlines of a free- trade agreement called Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during a meeting in Honolulu, Hawaii on Saturday.

In a joint statement, the leaders, including Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard and U.S. President Barack Obama, said their consensus on the broad TPP outlines (http://www.ustr.gov/about-us/press-office/fact-sheets/2011/november/outlines-trans-pacific-partnership-agreement) is a "milestone in our common vision to establish a comprehensive, next-generation regional agreement that liberalizes trade and investment and addresses new and traditional trade issues and 21st-century challenges."

"Building on this achievement and on the successful work done so far, we have committed here in Honolulu to dedicate the resources necessary to conclude this landmark agreement as rapidly as possible," said the statement posted on the website of the Office of the U.S. Trade Representative.

TPP leaders described the pact as a model for future free-trade agreements as it will enhance competitiveness, benefit some 500 million consumers, support the creation and retention of jobs, promote higher living standards and reduce poverty.

The group said it is open to including other countries such as Japan, which is negotiating its participation. The nine countries already comprise one-fourth of the world's gross domestic product and Japan's inclusion will increase the economic scope of TPP to one-third of the global GDP.

Obama said in a statement that the "TPP will boost our economies, lowering barriers to trade and investment, increasing exports, and creating more jobs for our people, which is my number-one priority. Along with our trade agreements with South Korea, Panama and Colombia, the TPP will also help achieve my goal of doubling U.S. exports, which support millions of American jobs."

The U.S. trade with the other TPP members combined amounts to more than $200 billion annually and the partnership will make them America's fifth-largest trading partner.

For her part, Gillard welcomed the development.

"I've said consistently to Australians that trade equals jobs. We are a great trading nation and anything we can do to increase our capacity to trade is good for Australian jobs," she said after the meeting, according to News.com.au.
Gillard said Australian farmers stand to benefit from the TPP.

News.com quoted Trade Minister Craig Emerson as saying that the economic benefits of the TPP to Australia will be better understood once the deal is finalised in 2012.

The TPP was initiated by Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore in June 2005. The other countries subsequently joined the pact the following years.