London: The United Kingdom will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), UK Secretary of State for International Trade Kemi Badenoch said on Friday.
“It’s nearly 1am UK time and my counterparts and I have only just officially concluded negotiations to join the CPTPP bloc! Fantastic news for UK business and consumers as we increase trade with the dynamic Indo-Pacific region providing the future of global GDP growth,” Badenoch said on Twitter.
The UK will be the first European country to join the CPTPP.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement was originally signed in 2016 between the United States, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Vietnam, Japan, Mexico, Chile, and Peru. As part of the agreement, it was planned to create a free trade zone in the Asia-Pacific region. However, in January 2017, then US President Donald Trump signed a decree withdrawing the US from the agreement, after which the remaining 11 countries formed the CPTPP.
