There is no value in TPP without the United States
This is not true for New Zealand. NZ does not have a free trade agreement with Japan but competitors such as Chile and Australia do. TPP 11 (TPP minus the US) would allow us to level the playing field with these competitors. There are meaningful liberalisation outcomes in other economies - Mexico, Peru and Canada, with whom we don't have free trade deals.
But aren't we imposing huge costs by this agreement to the benefit of the US?
There are some "costs" in the form of increased transparency for Pharmac, increased patent terms and longer copyright terms. And yes, these are things the US argued for in the original talks. But these "costs" are far more modest than the gains from the agreement cited above.
Why don't we remove these provisions?
Well there are things in the agreement other parties don't like either. For example, Japan doesn't like the agriculture provisions. If we all start seeking deletions we will have a substantial renegotiation and an outcome that greatly reduces the value of the agreement to New Zealand. Plus one day we hope the United States will see reason and seek to join what is a good agreement for the US.
But won't US firms still be able to sue the New Zealand Government?
No, the investor state dispute settlement provisions only apply to the 11 parties to the agreement. The US is, at this stage, not a party any more.