Other members of CPTPP are Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Britain is the first new member to join the group.
Membership will supplement existing bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) Britain has with most of the member countries, and gives businesses extra options over the terms they can trade under.
The overall impact of the trade deal is set to be modest. Britain said the deal, which will cut tariffs on cars, spirits and dairy products, would boost the economy by 1.8 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) each year in the long-run – a figure that could rise as more countries join the pact.
“The Pacific Rim is forecast to grow twice as fast as Europe, so UK businesses should be thinking about their regional presence,” said Sally Jones, trade policy and strategy partner at EY.
“The CPTPP makes that much easier, and the CPTPP will only get bigger as more countries look to join.”
Britain has agreed new post-Brexit trade deals with Australia and New Zealand, and agreed an FTA with Japan in 2020. It is also in talks with Canada and Mexico over new FTAs, after it rolled over previous EU trade deals at the end of 2020.
Source- Hindustan Times.