The UK is the first country in Europe to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (CCTPP). The British government announced the signing, on Sunday July 16, in New Zealand of its membership of the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Partnership, its most important trade agreement since Brexit but put into perspective by economists.
The CPTPP (for “Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership”) will thus include twelve countries, for a gross domestic product (GDP) of 12,000 billion pounds sterling (14,000 billion euros), according to a press release from the ministry. of British trade. The bloc has 500 million inhabitants and 15% of world GDP with the United Kingdom.
Once accession is signed, the British government will have to ratify it, which will involve a parliamentary step, while the other acceding countries continue their own legislative process, according to the press release. Quoted in the statement, Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch highlighted the “billions of pounds of additional trade” for UK businesses.
Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, she said: “[London’s membership of the CPTPP shows that] we are not isolated [, that] the UK is looking outward.” “We have a headquarters in the fastest growing region of the world,” she said.
When announcing the agreement to join the CPTPP at the end of March, the British government highlighted the fact that the contribution to the British economy would reach 1.8 billion pounds sterling (2, 45 billion euros). In a document published in June 2021, the executive estimated the fallout at 0.08% of its GDP.
Boosting its international trade
Since its effective exit from the European Union (EU) and the European single market on January 1, 2021, the United Kingdom has been seeking to establish all-out trade agreements to boost its international trade.
London has notably concluded commercial treaties with the EU and other European states, but also with more distant countries such as Australia, New Zealand or Singapore. Discussions are underway with India or Canada.
On the other hand, the long-awaited agreement with the United States is long overdue, Kemi Badenoch acknowledging that the chances of achieving it are “very low”. “The United States does not enter into any free trade agreement with any country”, but “it all depends on the administration” American, continued the minister on Sky News, “different presidents have different priorities”.
While Brexit advocates point out that it allows London to strike free trade deals independently, its opponents argue that the UK will struggle to compensate for the damage caused by leaving the EU.
In April, budget forecasting body OBR (Office for Budget Responsibility) estimated that the trade deal with the EU would lower long-term productivity by 4% compared to when the UK was part of the EU.
Signed in particular by New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Japan, the CPTPP is the most important free trade pact in the region. China has applied in 2021, but several countries view this request with a dim view.
Former US President Donald Trump announced, at the beginning of 2017, his country’s withdrawal from this agreement, to which his country had initially adhered, even before its entry into force – which has been taking place in stages since December 2018.
