April 3, 2023
As its largest trade accord since Brexit, Britain has agreed to join a significant trans-Pacific partnership.
The nation will join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), becoming the organization’s first new member since it went into effect in 2018. It will also be the first in Europe.
Friday morning, British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak made the announcement, praising it as a historic step that could eventually boost long-term economic development in the nation by £1.8 billion ($2.2 billion).
According to Sunak’s office, the bloc is home to more than 500 million people and once the UK enters, it will account for 15% of the world’s GDP.
Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore, and Vietnam are among the 11 nations that are a part of the CPTPP, a free trade deal. After the United States pulled from the Trans-Pacific Partnership in 2017 under then-President Donald Trump, it replaced it.
After beginning negotiations to join the pact almost two years ago, the UK has now reached an agreement.
As a member, the UK will now be able to deal tariff-free with more than 99% of those 11 nations. That includes important products like gin, whisky, machinery, automobiles, and cheese.
The United Kingdom exported products worth £60.5 billion ($75 billion) to CPTPP nations in the year ending in September 2022, according to a statement from Sunak’s office.
For instance, dairy producers sent $29.6 million worth of goods to Canada, Chile, Japan, and Mexico last year and were slated to “benefit from lower tariffs,” according to the article.
The agreement hopes to reduce red tape for British businesses, who won’t have to establish local offices or reside in the pact’s member nations in order to provide services there.
43% of all UK commerce with CPTPP members last year was in services, according to Sunak’s office.
The prime minister attempted to use the agreement as an illustration of the “economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms” by asserting that “We are at our core an open and free-trading nation.”
As a member of the CPTPP, the UK is now well-positioned to take advantage of chances for new employment, economic growth, and innovation, Sunak continued.
In the government statement, a number of companies voiced their support for the agreement, including the global bank Standard Chartered (SCBFF) and the spirits producer Pernod Ricard. (PDRDF).
Being a part of the agreement “is a big opportunity for our Scotch whisky business,” according to Anishka Jelicich, director of public affairs for Pernod Ricard in the UK.
“CPTPP members make up five of our top 20 export destinations. With sales doubling in some markets, we anticipate tariff reductions and easier access to some of the countries with the fastest rates of growth in the world to boost exports, secure employment, and attract investment to the UK.
Source: CNN
Legal Notice: The information in this article is intended for information purposes only. It is not intended for professional information purposes specific to a person or an institution. Every institution has different requirements because of its own circumstances even though they bear a resemblance to each other. Consequently, it is your interest to consult on an expert before taking a decision based on information stated in this article and putting into practice. Neither Karen Audit nor related person or institutions are not responsible for any damages or losses that might occur in consequence of the use of the information in this article by private or formal, real or legal person and institutions.
