A significant milestone for UK trade – Britain is the first new member and first European nation to join the bloc since its formation in 2018.
Kemi Badenoch has signed off UK membership to a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc. The business and trade secretary signed the accession protocol to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in New Zealand on Sunday.
The move brings British businesses a step closer to being able to sell to a market of half a billion people. Britain is the first new member to join the bloc – comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – since its formation in 2018.
The UK is also the first European nation to gain entry. It represents Britain’s biggest trade deal since Brexit, cutting tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which – with UK accession – will have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of £12trn, accounting for 15% of global GDP, according to officials.
The signing is the formal confirmation of the agreement which was reached in March after two years of negotiations. Read more from Sky News >
