UK to join Indo-Pacific trade bloc CPTPP in major ‘milestone’
The UK is to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, in a major “milestone” for post-Brexit trade, the government has confirmed.
Ministers announced the deal making the UK the first European nation to join the major Indo-Pacific free trade bloc, worth a total of £11 trillion GDP, after negotiating for 21 months.
Prime minister Rishi Sunak said: “We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.”
Membership will see more than 99 per cent of UK exports to CPTPP nations eligible for zero tariffs, the government said, including cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky, while the services sector will benefit from reduced red tape and Pacific markets access.
UK exports to CPTPP countries were already worth £60.5bn in the year to September 2022.
The UK becomes the first new member of the bloc since the CPTPP, which is home to more than 500m people and will be worth 15 per cent of global GDP with the UK, was established.
Economically, the UK is set to benefit by £1.8bn in the long run, the government said, with wages also forecast to rise by £800m compared to 2019 levels.
Negotiations concluded after intensive discussions in Vietnam this month, following five sets of talks, with representatives from all member countries agreeing to the UK’s accession.
The wider Indo-Pacific region has 60 per cent of the world’s population and will make up 54 per cent of global economic growth in the coming decades.
The UK and CPTPP members will now take the final steps before formally signing in 2023.
‘Powerful signal’
Business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch said the news was an “important moment for the UK”, adding: “Our accession sends a powerful signal that the UK is open for business and using our post-Brexit freedoms to reach out to new markets and grow our economy.”
Matthew Fell, CBI interim director-general, said: “Joining CPTPP is a real milestone for the UK and for British industry.
“Membership reinforces the UK’s commitment to building partnerships in an increasingly fragmented world.”