British ministers will hold discussions this week over joining a key Indo-Pacific trade bloc, Downing Street has said.
A spokesperson for Rishi Sunak said that negotiations over the UK joining the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) had been “progressing well”, with hopes of a breakthrough before the end of the week.
It would make Britain the first new member to join the bloc since its creation in 2018, giving businesses access to a market worth around 13 per cent of global GDP.
Sources familiar with the negotiations told Reuters that the 11 members of the CPTPP are expected to soon reach broad agreement with Britain on it joining the pact.
An update will be provided on the talks at the “earliest possible opportunity”, the PM’s spokesperson said.
The CPTPP currently covers Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Stephanie Rickard, professor of political science at the London School of Economics, told the Telegraph that joining the bloc would be a particular benefit for Scottish whisky exports as well as electronic and digital trade.
The move signified a “clear pivot towards the Indo-Pacific region”, she added.
The deal will establish regulatory cooperation in a range of areas including food standards, according to Politico. It would enable Britain to have tariff-free trade with countries in the region.
Projections by the Department for International Trade (DIT) suggest that UK exports to CPTPP countries could increase to 65 per cent by 2030, a rise of around £37 billion.
But other trade experts were more sceptical that the deal would lead to significant gains for the UK economy.
The Institute for Directors, which represents senior business leaders, wrote earlier this month that that joining the CPTPP could negatively impact UK farmers as many of the bloc’s countries are major agricultural exporters.
They added: “UK companies still rely on the long established links they have with EU markets, which are directly on our doorstep and with whom they have closer historical ties.
“The Indo-Pacific strategy will open up important opportunities for UK businesses, but the government must not forfeit the significance of our relationship with the EU in order to do so.”
