Ciobo talks up trade in US

Trade Minister Steve Ciobo has told an American audience Australia has heard "loud and clear" new US President Donald Trump's comments on a major trade deal.

Nevertheless, Australia and other signatories to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which Mr Trump pulled the US from, still want to capture the hard-fought and won gains from the deal, he told the Australia America Association in New York.

Mr Ciobo said it was his sincere hope that although the US had pulled out of the 12-country agreement, it would continue to work towards a free trade area of the Asia-Pacific, which all APEC members had agreed to pursue.