Ministers from Japan, Australia and Malaysia welcomed President Donald Trump directing officials to explore returning to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a pact he withdrew from shortly after coming to office. But they also cautioned against making any significant changes.

"We welcome the U.S. coming back to the table but I don't see any wholesale appetite for any material re-negotiation of the TPP-11," Australia Trade Minister Steven Ciobo said Friday.

Toshimitsu Motegi, Japan's minister in charge of TPP, also said it would be difficult to change the deal, calling it a "balanced one, like fine glassware." Malaysia's International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed echoed these remarks, saying that renegotiation would "alter the balance of benefits for parties."

Trump Tweet

In a Twitter post on Thursday night, Trump said the U.S. "would only join TPP if the deal were substantially better than the deal offered to Pres. Obama. We already have BILATERAL deals with six of the eleven nations in TPP, and are working to make a deal with the biggest of those nations, Japan, who has hit us hard on trade for years!"