The prime minister highlighted the fact that it would not have been able to join the partnership if it were still a member of the EU, praising the way it “seizes the opportunities” of the “new post-Brexit trade freedoms”.
On Friday, the United Kingdom announced the conclusion of an agreement to join the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Partnership after 21 months of negotiations, the most important trade agreement since its exit from the European Union. The Prime Minister said in a statement that the United Kingdom is the first European country to join the Association Agreement, which includes 12 countries with a gross domestic product of 11 billion pounds sterling. The partner countries are home to 500 million people and represent 15 percent of the world’s GDP.
The prime minister highlighted the fact that it would not have been able to join the partnership if it were still a member of the EU, praising the way it “seizes the opportunities” of “new trade freedoms in the post-Brexit era”.
It showed that more than 99 per cent of British merchandise exports to TPP member countries are now duty-free, pointing in particular to products such as cheese, cars, chocolate and machinery as well as alcoholic beverages.
The service sector will also benefit from abbreviated administrative procedures under the agreement.
London estimated that the contribution of the partnership to the British economy will reach 1.8 billion pounds sterling, which means that it will represent a small part of its economic activity.
In this regard, Ashley Webb, an expert at Capital Economics, explained that this “has a weak effect, given the economic losses of 3.2 percent by 2026 as a result of Britain’s exit from the European Union, according to Bank of England estimates.” “However, the agreement could help improve Britain’s international relations and the perception of the United Kingdom as a trading partner,” he added.
In the statement, Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the UK, by engaging in the Partnership, would place itself “at the center of a group of dynamic and growing Pacific economies”. “British companies will now benefit from unparalleled access to markets stretching from Europe to the South Pacific,” Sunak said.
Trade Minister Kemi Badnoush also highlighted the benefits in terms of employment and expanding access to the Indo-Pacific region, where “most of the global growth” is expected.
Partnership member Japan welcomed the news on Friday, with government spokesman Hirokazu Matsuno describing the UK as a “global strategic partner”.
Member states and the United Kingdom must complete the final legal and administrative steps before formally signing their accession this year.
The United Kingdom applied to join the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Partnership in February 2021. It should be noted that former US President Donald Trump withdrew his country in early 2017 from this agreement even before it entered into force.
