UK strikes deal to join CPTPP pact, boost trade with Indo-Pacific

The British government announced Friday its conclusion of trade talks with member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a vast free trade area spanning the Indo-Pacific, after 21 months of negotiations.

The bloc is home to over 500 million people and will have a total GDP of £11 trillion (more than $13.64 trillion) once the UK joins, the British government said.

“As the fifth largest economy in the world by GDP in 2021 and with a market of 67 million consumers, the UK is an attractive market for Vietnam,” the British Embassy in Hanoi said. “Expanding the CPTPP to include the UK will help to diversify supply chains, remove trading barriers, and encourage more trade for our businesses.”

Britain’s negotiations, which began in June 2021, concluded after an intense round of talks in Vietnam, with representatives from all member countries agreeing that the UK has reached the conclusion of its accession process to join the CPTPP.

The UK is the first European country to join the dynamic trade bloc, and the first new member since the CPTPP was created, taking it from a Pacific agreement to a truly global one. Its accession could mean lower tariffs on some exports to the UK which are not already removed through the UK’s bilateral agreements with member countries, including Vietnam.

Iain Frew, British Ambassador to Vietnam, said: "This is an important milestone for the UK's trade relations with Asia-Pacific countries. The UK's accession to the CPTPP will contribute additional economic strength to this progressive and dynamic trade alliance, adding £2 trillion to the combined GDP of the CPTPP bloc.

“It is particularly meaningful that Vietnam hosted the final round of negotiations on UK accession, as we celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties between the UK and Vietnam in 2023. I am pleased that the CPTPP will complement our bilateral FTA and further boost our growing trade relationship with Vietnam."

Britain’s Trade Commissioner for Asia-Pacific, Natalie Black, said: “Today’s announcement will help British businesses grow their trade with seven dynamic Asia-Pacific economies, particularly Malaysia and Brunei which the UK does not currently have bilateral agreements with.”

The current 11 CPTPP members are Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Canada, Singapore, Mexico, Peru, Brunei, Chile, and Malaysia.

As one of the largest free trade areas in the world, CPTPP accounted for 12% of global GDP in 2021. This is forecast to rise to 15% percent with the UK’s accession, adding substantial value to this huge free trade area, the British government said.

The UK and CPTPP members will now take the final steps required for the UK to formally sign in 2023.