The British government announced that the UK will apply tomorrow to join the CPTPP trade bloc. “A year after we left the European Union, we are establishing new partnerships that will bring tremendous economic benefits to the British people,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement.
The government said joining the FTA, whose other members are all around the Pacific, would raise tariffs on food, drink and cars while helping boost the technology and service sectors. The statement said British Trade Secretary Liz Truss will speak to his colleagues in Japan and New Zealand tomorrow about a formal application to join the CPTPP.
“Applying to be the first new country to join CPTPP is a testament to our ambition to do business on the best terms with our friends and partners around the world and to be avid advocates of global free trade,” Johnson said.
The Comprehensive and Gradual Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership was concluded in 2018. It originated as a further development of the TPP Treaty in which the United States will also participate. But in 2017, Donald Trump decided that the United States would not continue to participate.
Currently, CPTPP is in effect in Mexico, Japan, Singapore, New Zealand, Canada, Australia and Vietnam. Brunei, Chile, Malaysia and Peru have not yet ratified the treaty. Truss previously called the CPTPP “one of the most dynamic free trade areas in the world”.
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