But now there is no direction at all. Mr Turnbull was expected to make his feelings known during a bilateral meeting already scheduled with Mr Trudeau at APEC. Late FRiday night, Trade Ministers reconvened to seek a "please explain" from Canada and see f there was a path forward.

It was not immediately clear why Canada baulked but it had been expressing concern throughout talks that it wanted a good deal, not a rushed deal. It had already secured time to further discuss cultural exemptions for French language issues. It also had concerns about intellectual property.

But the deal was a virtual certainty, so much so that after the Trade Ministers agreed, and moments before the leaders met on Friday evening, it was announced to media as a done deal that was only to be ratified by the leaders. But when the leaders arrived, Japan's Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was holding a crisis talks with Mr Trudeau in another room.

Mr Abe then told the other leaders Mr Trudeau had baulked and the meeting was called off. Other nations there were Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Brunei, Malaysia, Chile, Peru, Mexico and Vietnam.

AAP

Australia, Japan and others who pushed hard on the TPP are livid with Canada. Mr Ciobo tried to be diplomatic,

"It is of course disappointing that this has happened, we had a very good deal, we were hopeful that we were able to build on," he said.

"There is of course still, opportunity for us to continue discussion to try and work our way through the last remaining issues that Canada raised but at this point in time it would appear that at the request of Canada we were not able to achieve a resolution today."


"We continue to be optimistic. This is a very good deal.

"This is not the first time the TPP has faced some challenges."

There will be no more negotiations at APEC and there is no indication of if, or when, they will be revived.

The TPP-11 was designed to remain open to the US returning, something Mr Turnbull acknowledged was unlikely while Mr Trump was president.

"I don't think it's a lost cause at all but I don't see President Trump taking a different approach to the TPP any time soon. I am being realistic," he said.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks during a meeting with President Donald Trump in the Oval Office of the White House, Wednesday, Oct. 11, 2017, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) Evan Vucci

Other nations had issues they wanted to resolve but, unlike Canada, believed that could be done down the track, after agreement was reached.


Vietnam, a developing country, wanted an extension on a requirement to improve labour standards. Malaysia had concerns about State-Owned Enterprises and minor-market access issues.

The deal collapsed just as Mr Trump, who has eschewed multilateral trade deals, took the stage at his first APEC to speak on his vision for a "free and open Indo-Pacific region". He hammered China for its unfair trade practices including intellectual property theft, currency manipulation, failure to comply with World Trade Organisation rules, and the use of state-owned enterprises to force private companies out of business.

Mr Trump said the US was ready to make a bilateral deal with any country in the Indo-Pacific region, but only on the basis of "mutual respect and mutual benefit". He said the US would not be taken advantage of any more.

Unlike some other TPP nations, Australia is not disadvantaged by the absence of the US because it has a separate bi-lateral free trade agreement with America.

A study by the Peterson Institute for International Economics found TPP-11 would boost Australia's national income by 0.5 per cent and boost exports by 4 per cent, just less than the respective boosts of 0.6 per cent and 4.9 per cent from the original TPP.

Furthermore, conditions the US negotiated when it was part of the TPP would be suspended under TPP-11 and the US would have to renegotiate them if it wants back in.

Critically for Australia, this included extending the monopoly on drug production for US pharmaceutical giants which, according to one study, could have cost the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme $560 million.

Under the TPP-11, Australia would have had new trade agreements with Canada and Mexico, and expanded access to the markets of Japan, Chile, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Brunei with which it already has bilateral free trade agreements.


This includes new reductions in Japan's tariffs on Australian beef and new access for dairy products into Japan, Canada and Mexico, including the elimination of a range of cheese tariffs into Japan.

The ACTU opposed the original TPP and the TPP-11, claiming it could cost 39,000 Australian jobs.

"The deal opens up the Australian labour market to unlimited numbers of temporary workers from Canada, Mexico, Chile, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam as contractual service providers in a wide range of jobs including nurses, engineers, electricians, plumbers, carpenters, bricklayers, tilers, mechanics and chefs," the ACTU said..

Mr Turnbull, whose signature message at APEC is to resists protectionism, is arguing that trade generates wealth and employment.

On Friday, he signed an FTA with Peru.

"There is a lot of progress going on, on the free trade and open markets front. It's absolutely fundamental to our future," he said.