UK Approved For Largest Trade Deal In Its History
The UK is all set to join one of the world’s largest trading blocs with 590 million potential customers, a total which is reportedly 31 percent more than the European Union.
The final necessary ratification was processed last week for the UK to join the ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership’ (CPTPP), which effectively becomes the largest trade deal in the UK’s history and it could start to partially become effective after three months.
The UK join fellow CPTPP members Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam as the first non-founder member. The Peruvian Government became the sixth country to officially ratify the UK’s application, confirming its membership last week. The remaining five have signed the deal but are yet to ratify it formally.
It is currently understood that 99 percent of UK goods exported to CPTPP member countries will become eligible for zero duty tariffs, although similar preferential duty agreements were in place with countries such as Chile and Mexico even before the UK left the European Union.
The UK’s Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Jonathan Reynolds, has said the deal “will mark a major milestone in our journey to full membership of a bloc that will boast a combined GDP of £12trn after the UK joins” adding that joining the bloc is a “real win for big-hitting British exporters, but would also offer a boost for smaller businesses who are keen to break into these markets for the first time”.
The agreement only takes effect for those countries that have already fully ratified the UK’s inclusion, which are currently Canada, Chile, Japan, Peru, Singapore and New Zealand.
