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Britain to apply to join Asia-Pacific free trade bloc
LONDON, Jan 31, 2021 (BSS/AFP) – Britain will apply to join a massive 11-
nation free-trade bloc of Asia-Pacific countries, it announced Saturday, weeks
after leaving the European single market with its departure from the EU.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will formally request Monday for
Britain to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific
Partnership (CPTPP), a market representing half a billion people and roughly
13.5 percent of the global economy.
The CPTPP application will come one year after Britain left the European
Union following more than forty years of membership — and after five years of
complex trade discussions.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the potential new partnership would
“bring enormous economic benefits for the people of Britain”.
“Applying to be the first new country to join the CPTPP demonstrates our
ambition to do business on the best terms with our friends and partners all over
the world and be an enthusiastic champion of global free trade,” he said.
Negotiations between the UK and the partnership — which represents 11 Pacific
Rim nations including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam —
are expected to start this year, the trade department said.
But opposition Labour party shadow international trade secretary Emily
Thornberry questioned the lack of transparency surrounding the pact.
After five years of debate over Brexit trade agreements, she said people would
question the British government’s decision “to rush into joining another one on
the other side of the world without any meaningful public consultation at all.”
“At present, Liz Truss cannot even guarantee whether we would have the right
to veto China’s proposed accession if we join the bloc first,” she said.
– ‘Enormous opportunities’ –
Truss said joining the CPTPP would offer “enormous opportunities”.
She has touted joining as Britain made agreements with members such as Japan
and Canada in the wake of Brexit, with British media reporting that CPTPP
nations accounted for around eight percent of UK exports in 2019.
Truss said the deal will mean lower tariffs for car manufacturers and whisky
producers, as well as “delivering quality jobs and greater prosperity for people
here at home”.
Karan Bilimoria, president of the UK’s largest business lobby group the
Confederation of British Industry (CBI), said the move marked a “new chapter
for our independent trade policy”.
“Membership of the bloc has the potential to deliver new opportunities for UK
business across different sectors,” he said.
The CPTPP was launched in 2019 to remove trade barriers among the 11
nations representing nearly 500 million consumers in the Asia-Pacific region in a
bid to counter China’s growing economic influence.
The partnership is an updated version of a giant deal originally backed by
former US president Barack Obama.
The United States pulled out of the agreement under Donald Trump’s
presidency — turning away from what he viewed as unfavourable multilateral
deals — but 11 countries eventually agreed to sign the new version.
Following Britain’s definitive departure from the European Union after a one
year transition period out of the European single market at the end of 2020, the
UK has sought to advance the brand of “Global Britain” in 2021.
The UK holds the rotating presidency of the G7 in 2021 and takes over the
presidency of the UN Security Council in February.
BSS/AFP/TIT/1710 hrs