As a member of the Trade Advisory Group (TAG), Department for Business and Trade (DBT), I applaud the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). Indeed, it is an achievement for DBT and an important moment for the UK. The agreement protects the UK’s vital industries and entities, as well as upholds high animal welfare and food safety standards.
CPTPP is a vast free trade bloc consisting of 11 sovereign countries spanning the Asia Pacific and the Americas. It is a gateway to the wider Indo-Pacific region, which will account for the majority of global growth and around half of the world’s middle-class consumers in the decades to come.
CPTPP is one of the most modern trade agreements in the world, with ambitious service provisions that are ideally suited to the UK; the world’s second-largest service provider. It will support jobs and create opportunities for UK businesses in every part of the UK, from beverage producers in Scotland to manufacturers of machinery in Wales, to car manufacturers in Northern Ireland and the West Midlands.
Accession puts the UK at the heart of a dynamic group of sovereign countries, including Vietnam which is predicted to be one of the fastest-growing economies in the next decades. It strengthens the UK’s ties with some of the world’s most dynamic economies, with a combined GDP of £11 trillion once the UK joins.
Some of the UK businesses’ benefit include:
- cutting tariffs on goods exports
- new opportunities from diversifying supply chains
- opening new markets for UK service providers
- improved data flows
- a trade deal with Malaysia for the first time
- more access to high-quality consumer goods
- strengthening economic security
- encouraging investment