Britain signs a deal to join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc worth £12 trillion

LONDON — British Business and Trade Secretary Kimmy Badinoch has formally signed a treaty confirming accession to the massive bloc of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the country’s largest post-Brexit trade deal to date.

The deal, signed Sunday in New Zealand, will now receive parliamentary scrutiny in the UK, while other CPTPP countries will complete their own legislative processes. The UK government has said that more than 99% of current UK goods exported to CPTPP countries will soon be eligible for zero tariffs.

11 members Comprehensive and progressive agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Including Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. The UK will be the first European country to join the bloc, which the government says will open up trade in a region with a gross domestic product of 12 trillion pounds ($15.7 trillion).

It remains to be seen how much the deal will actually benefit Britain’s growth prospects. Based on the government’s own estimates, the deal will lift domestically in the long run GDP by only 0.08%, Which will have little effect to offset European trade losses as a result of Brexit. The United Kingdom officially left the European Union on January 31, 2020.

Badenock said on Sunday that Britain was using its status as an independent trading nation to join an “exciting, growing and forward-looking trading bloc”.

“[It] It will help grow the UK economy and build on the hundreds of thousands of jobs that CPTPP-owned companies already have and which are already supporting the country’s ups and downs,” according to the government, citing 2019 data.

Badenoch added that the deal “will open huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of more than 500 million people.”

The trade agreement evolved from the now-defunct Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP, which originated in the US but collapsed after former President Donald Trump overturned US intervention.

Sean McGuire, Europe director at the Confederation of British Industry, said the agreement, together with Britain’s external and strategic global trade agenda, had “the potential to drive export-led growth in critical sectors, such as services and green technology, while also making our supply chains more sustainable.” resilience.”

“As one of the largest deals globally, including in some of the world’s most dynamic markets, British businesses will be looking forward to new trade and investment opportunities,” he said in an emailed statement.

— CNBC’s Sumathi Bala contributed to this article.