Britain is joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
Britain is joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) free trade organisation.
The agreement was announced by the Prime Minister’s Office in London on 31.03.2023. Britain is expected to join the group later this year, who are with Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
London formally submitted its application to join the CPTPP on 1 February 2021, just one year after the UK’s withdrawal from the EU (Brexit).
The combined annual gross domestic product (GDP) of the CPTPP group of 500 million people, excluding the UK, is approximately $13,500 billion, or about 13.4 percent of the world GDP. With the accession of the UK, this share will rise to 15%.
More than 99 percent of British goods exports to the CPTPP group – including cars, machinery, cheese, chocolate, gin and whisky – can enter member countries with zero tariffs, according to figures cited by the London Cabinet Office. Cars made in Britain currently face a 30 percent tariff in CPTPP countries, while whisky faces an 80 percent tariff. In the twelve months to September last year, Britain – which will be the first European member of the CPTPP – exported a total of £60.5 billion worth of products to the CPTPP market.
The accession agreement, reached after 21 months of negotiations and five rounds of talks, is Britain’s biggest international trade deal since Brexit.
Picture: Statistics Canada
