The UK would be welcomed into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) with “open arms” after Brexit, Japan’s prime minister Shinzo Abe has said.

The trade deal, which has 11 signatories across the Pacific rim, has not been without controversy, however. President Donald Trump pulled the US out of the agreement just three days after his inauguration, saying it undermined the American economy.

So what is TPP and would it be worth the UK joining?

What is the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP)?

Firstly - it is not the same as TTIP - the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, a proposed trade deal between the EU and the US, which has been in negotiations since 2013.

TPP focuses on a different collection of states. The first iteration of TPP was signed by 12 countries: the US, Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam in February 2016.

It aimed to create a free trade zone with common labour and environmental standards, and measures to protect data and intellectual property of large companies. It was a far-reaching agreement, removing 18,000 tariffs.

The pact was a cornerstone of President Barack Obama's strategic "pivot" towards Asia and his bid to reassert to US economic hegemony over China.