The largest free trade area in the world came into existence over the weekend — and the U.S. was not even invited.

Why it matters: For the first time in living memory, the hegemon at the center of a major global free trade agreement is not the U.S.

China has stepped into Uncle Sam's shoes, and now anchors the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, or RCEP, an area covering 2.2 billion people and 1/3 of all the economic activity on the planet.

Members of an 11-nation Asia-Pacific trade pact said Friday they opposed any renegotiation of the deal to accommodate the U.S. should it decide to rejoin at a later date.

President Donald Trump told lawmakers he is considering rejoining the Asia-Pacific trade pact he withdrew from shortly after taking office as he expressed confidence the U.S. is headed toward resolving trade conflicts without economic disruption.

A little over a year after withdrawing from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, economic advisers are set to study terms.

President Trump told top administration officials Thursday to look at rejoining the Trans-Pacific Partnership, the multination trade agreement he pulled the United States out of shortly after taking office.

President Trump has directed his top economic and trade advisers to look into re-entering the Trans-Pacific Partnership, nearly a year after he withdrew the U.S. from the multilateral trade agreement in of his first acts as president.

Sen. Mike Rounds on Sunday urged President Donald Trump to “stop fighting with Mexico and Canada” — and to resume talks with the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

Ministers agree on ‘core elements’ of revised trade pact; Canada’s reservations prevent final deal at APEC summit.

It looks like America will miss out on an important trade deal.

President Trump is expected to take two steps to begin the upending of American trade policy very soon—perhaps as soon as Monday. One, an executive order withdrawing the United States from the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Barack Obama championed, is expected to be issued Monday.