The UK reaches a major milestone to join £8.4 trillion CPTPP free trade area
The UK has today [18 February 2022] reached a major milestone to join what the International Trade Secretary has hailed ‘one of the largest and most exciting free-trading clubs in the world’.
Confirmation from the Japanese government, as Chair of the UK’s Accession Working Group on behalf of the CPTPP members, in the early hours of this morning means the UK has moved into the second ‘market access’ phase of negotiations with the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a free trade area worth £8.4 trillion in GDP.
The announcement comes ahead of Anne-Marie Trevelyan’s visit to Indonesia, Japan and Singapore next week to oversee the launch of the final accession stage and deepen trade ties throughout the Indo-Pacific region.
Moving to the final stage of the accession process is a key milestone towards acceding to CPTPP and means the UK has demonstrated to members of the partnership that we are a high-standards, fair trading economy.
Secretary of State for International Trade Anne-Marie Trevelyan said:
Following today’s announcement, market access negotiations will now begin in which the UK will agree new trading relationships with CPTPP countries, which could lead to 99.9% of UK exports to CPTPP being eligible for tariff-free trade.
We will ensure that the terms are in line with the UK’s broader policies and will negotiate in the national interest.
Benefits of UK accession could include:
CPTPP membership is expected to support levelling up by benefitting every nation and region of the UK, with the greatest relative gains predicted to be in the West Midlands, Scotland and Northern Ireland. There is expected to be a £53 million boost to the Gross Value Added of Wales, £45 million for Northern Ireland and £163 million for Scotland following UK accession to CPTPP.
As made clear in our Integrated Review published last year, the Indo Pacific region is vital for the future of Britain as it is critical to Global Britain’s strategic, economic and security interests. The centre of economic gravity is moving East.
Joining CPTPP puts the UK at the heart of a dynamic group of countries as the world economy increasingly centres on the Pacific region. As these economies grow, so does the benefit to the UK of being able to trade freely with them.
Accession to CPTPP will also give the UK a role in setting the standards for a liberal international trading order which is a key part of securing shared prosperity and regional stability.
CBI President Lord Karan Bilimoria said:
Nicola Watkinson, Managing Director, International Trade and Investment, TheCityUK, said: