London on Friday announced a deal to join the CPTPP Trans-Pacific Free Trade Partnership after 21 months of talks, its biggest trade deal since Brexit.
In this way, the United Kingdom becomes the first country in Europe to join the CPTPP, which will thus have 12 countries for a GDP of 11,000 million pounds sterling (12,500 million euros), Downing Street said in a press release.
The bloc brings together 500 million inhabitants and 15% of world GDP with the United Kingdom.
Highlighting the fact that the UK could not have joined this partnership if it had still been a member of the European Union, Downing Street praises the way the country “seizes the opportunities” of its “new post-Brexit trade freedoms”, while waiting for the benefits of leaving the block.
15% of world GDP
More than 99% of British merchandise exports to the CPTPP countries are exempt from customs duties, says Downing Street, citing emblematic products such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery or even gin and whiskey.
The service sector will also benefit from the reduction in red tape.
Eventually, the contribution to the British economy will reach 1.8 billion pounds sterling (2.45 billion euros), according to estimates cited by London.
“This deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms,” British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said.
By joining the CPTPP, the United Kingdom places itself “at the center of a group of dynamic and growing Pacific economies,” he said, quoted in the press release. “UK companies will now have unrivaled access to markets stretching from Europe to the South Pacific,” he added.
“Take time”
Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch, for his part, highlighted the benefits in terms of jobs for British companies and access to a wider gateway to the Indo-Pacific region, from where “the greatest part of global growth.
Japan, also a member of the association, welcomed the news on Friday, with Japanese government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno calling the UK a “global strategic partner” and an “important trade and investment partner.”
Its accession “will have great significance for the formation of a free and just economic order,” he added.
The UK and CPTPP member countries must now finalize the final legal and administrative steps before the deal is formally signed this year.
Comprehensive trade agreements
Since its effective exit from the EU and the European Single Market on January 1, 2021, the UK has been seeking to forge comprehensive trade agreements to boost its international trade.
In particular, London has entered into trade agreements with the EU and other European states, but also with countries further afield such as Australia, New Zealand and Singapore. Talks are being held with India or Canada.
On the other hand, the long-awaited agreement between the British and the United States is long overdue and negotiations with Washington are at a standstill.
Signed in particular by New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Japan, the CPTPP is the most important free trade pact in the region.
The former president of the United States, Donald Trump, announced on January 23, 2017 the withdrawal of his country from this agreement, to which his country was initially a party, even before its entry into force, which has been taking place in stages since December 2017. 2018.
The UK had applied to join the CPTPP in February 2021. Negotiations had started in June of the same year.
Last November, Rishi Sunak said his country must “take the time” to negotiate good trade deals with its partners in the wake of Brexit, contrasting with his predecessors’ desire to conclude such deals quickly.
Source: BFM TV
