People walk on the south bank of the Thames backdropped by the City of London, in London, Britain, on Feb. 1, 2021. The United Kingdom is formally applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with formal negotiations set to start this year, the British government said on Saturday. (Xinhua/Han Yan)
LONDON, Jan. 31 -- The United Kingdom is formally applying to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with formal negotiations set to start this year, the British government said on Saturday.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will speak to her counterparts in Japan and New Zealand on Monday morning to request joining the CPTPP, according to a statement released by the Department for International Trade.
The announcement came on the first anniversary of Britain's formal exit from the European Union, and the trade department said joining the CPTPP would deepen the UK's access to fast-growing markets and major economies.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: "One year after our departure from the EU we are forging new partnerships that will bring enormous economic benefits for the people of Britain."
"Applying to be the first new country to join the CPTPP demonstrates our ambition to do business on the best terms with our friends and partners all over the world and be an enthusiastic champion of global free trade," he said.
British businesses welcomed the plan, with Karan Bilimoria, president of the Confederation of British Industry, saying, "This ambition marks a new chapter for our independent trade policy. As one of the largest free trade agreements in the world, these 11 countries contribute over 100 billion pounds (137 billion U.S. dollars) to our economy."
UK trade with the group was worth 111 billion pounds in 2019, trade data showed.
Effective since Dec. 30, 2018, the CPTPP is a trade pact among 11 countries, including Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Chile, and Mexico, whose aggregate gross domestic product accounts for 13 percent of the world economy. (1 British pound = 1.37 U.S. dollars)
