The future of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade deal has been thrown into turmoil by US president-elect Donald Trump's pledge to withdraw from the agreement.

In a video outlining his policy plans after succeeding Barack Obama as president, Mr Trump said he intends to pull the US out of the deal - the result of seven years of discussions and negotiations - on his first day in office on January 20th 2017.

The Republican described the deal as "a potential disaster for our country", saying his administration would instead work to "negotiate fair bilateral trade deals that bring jobs and industry back".

One of the most wide-ranging free trade deals in history, the TPP was signed in 2015 and was designed to eliminate or reduce tariffs and other barriers covering almost all trade in goods and services among the 12 participating countries.

The deal has not yet been ratified by the individual countries, but the likely non-involvement of the US now casts significant doubts over its further progress.

Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe stated this week that the TPP would be "meaningless" without US participation, adding that no discussions have taken place on how to salvage the agreement if Trump's withdrawal plan goes ahead.