February 23, 2022—Since beginning negotiations to join one of the world’s largest trade agreements last Summer, the United Kingdom reached a major milestone this month. Signing new trade deals is a significant goal for Britain’s post-Brexit strategy.
After eight months of talks, the United Kingdom is moving to the final stages of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.
That’s because a CPTPP Accession committee approved moving Britain into the second phase of negotiations. The Japanese government, which is chairing the Accession Committee for the UK, confirmed that step on Feb. 18.
‘Largest Free Trading Club’
UK’s Trade Secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan commented on the significance of joining the trade deal.
“CPTPP is one of the largest and most exciting free-trading clubs in the world,” Trevelyan said in a UK news release. “Today’s announcement is a major milestone for us joining this dynamic group of economies and means the finish line is in sight.”
Furthermore, she said Britain could join the CPTPP by the end of the year. The United Kingdom recently signed trade deals with Australia and New Zealand.
An 11-Nation Pact
The CPTPP is a trade pact with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The 11 countries signed it in 2016 after years of negotiating. If Britain joins the 11-nation pact, the CPTPP would grow from accounting for 13 percent of the world’s trade to 16 percent.
The United Kingdom first started talks to join the pact last year.
According to the United Kingdom’s trade office, joining the trade deal could make 99 percent of the country’s exports to CPTPP tariff-free, create access to new markets, and increase opportunity in the service industry. Additionally, the trade agreement would align the United Kingdom with other fast-growing economies and potentially boost the country’s ability to achieve parity for its digital services.
Additional reporting by Patti Mohr.
Copyright secured by Digiprove © 2022 Patti Mohr