After years of negotiations, the Trans-Pacific Partnership was to be signed by 11 countries on Thursday in Santiago, Chile. The free trade agreement is widely viewed as an historic deal that establishes a series of rules on trade in the region. But it also looks different from the original measure that the United States rejected. CGTN's Joel Richards reports from Santiago.

On the eve of signing the reworked Trans-Pacific Partnership, now widely called TPP 11, for the 11 members, one of the earliest proponents of a free trade deal recalls the decision to commit to multilateralism.

RICARDO LAGOS FORMER CHILEAN PRESIDENT "In our case, we are a small country, and we decided, if it is possible, to go global."

Ricardo Lagos was president of Chile between 2000 and 2006. During his term in office, Chile signed bilateral free trade agreements with the United States, the European Union and China. But he also pushed for broader deals.

RICARDO LAGOS FORMER CHILEAN PRESIDENT "In 2005, we were able to inform APEC that the P4 emerged. Four powerful economies! New Zealand, Chile, Brunei and Singapore."

From a first group of four, other countries joined including the United States, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Japan, Malaysia and Vietnam, a total of 12. Over the course of negotiations, there were protests over the content of talks taking place behind closed doors new rules about free trade, intellectual property and services. Two years ago, 12 nations committed to this historic trade deal. Together, its members accounted for 40% of the world's economy. The U.S. president at the time, Barack Obama, backed this deal.

BARACK OBAMA FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT "The answer is to make sure globalization and trade is working for us, not against us. And that's why today we're reaffirming our commitment to the Trans-Pacific partnership. I'm a strong supporter of TPP."

Obama had said it would allow the United States, not China, to write the rules of trade in the region. But after Obama left office, the White House announced it was putting America First. On Day Three in office, Donald Trump withdrew the United States from the agreement.

DONALD TRUMP U.S. PRESIDENT "The TPP would have been a tremendous disaster for our country, and we are not going to surrender Pennsylvania jobs ever again."

For many, this signaled the end of the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

JOEL RICHARDS SANTIAGO But of the remaining countries, Chile was one of the strongest supporters of keeping the agreement alive, and the 11 members reached a new deal, formalizing the pact this past January.

At Chile's foreign ministry, Paulina Nazal took part in the negotiations to resurrect the TPP and is confident it sets a benchmark in trade deals.

PAULINA NAZAL, DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC RELATIONS CHILE FOREIGN MINISTRY "We are completely sure that this is going to be the model of the agreement that in the future many other countries will use as a base."

Without the United States, many analysts and observers say the scope of this agreement is greatly reduced. But former Chile President Lagos believes more countries, not only those in the Pacific region, will be interested in joining.

RICARDO LAGOS FORMER CHILEAN PRESIDENT "This pact is going to be much bigger in the near future."

Many questions remain, but after more than a decade, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is finally going ahead. Joel Richards, CGTN, Santiago.