UK signs treaty to join Trans-Pacific free trade bloc

London: The UK on Sunday formally signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) trade bloc, a move it says will help grow the country’s economy and provide access for British businesses to a market of over 500 million people.

UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch, who is also leading the ongoing free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with India, signed the pact agreed earlier this year during a visit to Auckland and hailed it as a major post-Brexit win for the country.

The UK will now seek to ratify the agreement, which will include parliamentary scrutiny as the CPTPP member countries complete their legislative processes to admit Britain into the trading bloc – of which India is not a member.

“I’m delighted to be here in New Zealand to sign a deal that will be a big boost for British businesses and deliver billions of pounds in additional trade, as well as open up huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of over 500 million people,” said Badenoch.

“We are using our status as an independent trading nation to join an exciting, growing, forward-looking trade bloc, which will help grow the UK economy and build on the hundreds of thousands of jobs CPTPP-owned businesses already support up and down the country,” she said.

The signing comes as a new UK government report reveals one in every 100 UK workers was employed by a business headquartered in a CPTPP member nation in 2019, equating to over 400,000 jobs across the country.

Membership of the trade group is expected to spark further investment in the UK by CPTPP countries, already worth GBP 182 billion in 2021, by guaranteeing protections for investors.

“The agreement is a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific which is set to account for the majority of global growth and around half of the world’s middle-class consumers in the decades to come, bringing new opportunities for British businesses and supporting jobs,” the UK’s Department for Business and Trade (DBT) said.

The UK will be the first European member and first new member since CPTPP was created, which the government stresses would have been impossible without leaving the European Union (EU) economic bloc.

“The UK’s formal accession to CPTPP marks a significant milestone for UK trade, enabling ambitious British businesses to connect with the world’s most exciting growth markets for start-ups, innovation and technology,” noted Ian Stuart, CEO of HSBC bank in the UK.

With the UK as a member, CPTPP will have a combined GDP of GBP 12 trillion and account for 15 per cent of global GDP, according to the DBT.

The agreement for the UK’s membership is expected to come into force by next year after all member nations ratify the deal.

British whisky and cars have been flagged as among 99 per cent of current UK goods exports to the CPTPP countries set to be eligible for zero tariffs as UK businesses gain “unparalleled access” to the new trans-Pacific free trade market which includes 11 countries around the Pacific rim: Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam and Japan.