Fresh start after Brexit? Kimi Badenoch hails ‘huge opportunity’ as she signs deal for UK to join massive £12trillion Indo-Pacific trade bloc
Kimi Badenoch hailed a ‘huge opportunity’ today as she signed a major post-Brexit deal for the UK to join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc.
The Commerce Secretary has written the papers on membership of the CCTPP Group, which consists of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The region has 500 million people and a combined GDP of around £12 trillion.
After the ceremony in Auckland, Ms Badenoch said: ‘This will be a huge boost for British business and will open up huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of more than 500 million people in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.’
Rishi Sunak said the government was ‘giving us Brexit freedom to grow the economy’.
He added, ‘If we hadn’t defeated Keir Starmer’s campaign to get Brexit back, it wouldn’t have been possible.’
Officials highlighted the importance of the deal despite its distance from the UK, where one in every 100 workers was employed by a business located in a CPTPP member country in 2019 – the equivalent of more than 400,000 jobs across the country.
Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch (pictured centre, in Auckland today) put pen to paper on membership of the CCTPP group, which includes 500 million people and a combined GDP of around £12 trillion.
After the ceremony in Auckland, Ms Badenoch said: ‘This will be a huge boost for British business and will open up huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of more than 500 million people in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.’
The Government will now move to ratify the deal, which will include scrutiny by Parliament, while the other CPTPP countries complete their own legislative processes to ensure the UK’s accession.
Officials estimate it will take effect in the second half of 2024, at which point the UK becomes a voting member of the bloc and businesses can benefit from it.
While Britain already has trade deals with CPTPP members in addition to Malaysia and Brunei, officials said it would deepen existing arrangements, with 99% of current UK goods exports to the bloc eligible for zero duty.
According to officials, dairy producers will have the opportunity to export to Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico, while beef, pork and poultry producers will have better access to the Mexican market.
But critics say the impact will be limited, with government estimates suggesting it will add just £1.8bn a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than 1cm of UK GDP.
The deal represents a continuation of the post-Brexit policy ‘risk’ towards the Indo-Pacific, which is expected to be home to almost half of the world’s middle-class consumers by 2035.
The CPTPP area has 500 million people and a combined GDP of around £12 trillion.
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