The United Kingdom will request its accession to the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement, the Comprehensive and Advanced Treaty on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP, for its English acronym), which announced Saturday (01/30/2021) the British Department for International Trade in a statement.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will formally request the UK to join this free trade agreement on Monday, which includes 11 countries in the Pacific region, such as Chile, Mexico, Peru, Australia, Canada, Japan and Vietnam.
The ministry said negotiations between London and CPTPP members should start this year.
A year after London left the European Union, “we have forged new partnerships that will bring huge economic benefits to the people of the United Kingdom,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson responded.
“Applying to become the first new country to join CPTPP demonstrates our ambition to do business in the best conditions with our friends and partners around the world and to be an ardent champion of global free trade,” he said.
Liz Truss estimated that joining the treaty would provide “tremendous opportunities”. “This will mean lower tariffs for carmakers and whiskey producers and better access to our excellent service providers, leading to higher-quality jobs and more prosperity for the people here,” he added.
CPTPP was launched in 2019 to remove trade barriers between its 11 constituent countries that represent nearly 500 million consumers in the Asia-Pacific region. Its goal is also to counter China’s growing economic influence.
This partnership is the new version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement that former US President Donald Trump withdrew from. (afp)
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