UK has been accepted into an Indo-Pacific trade bloc in what the government says is its biggest trade deal since Brexit.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade agreement between 11 countries, including Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam and now the UK.
Commenting on the news, Gerry Myton, Head of Indirect Tax, said:
“A trade deal doesn’t in itself create trade, it merely facilitates trade and the expected 0.08% increase in GDP over a 10 year period is negligible when compared to the estimated 4% annual hit to GDP arising from the decision to leave the EU. The UK is the first European country to enter the agreement, however the fanfare is a little exaggerated given the UK already had trade deals with 9 of the 11 CPTPP members; the exceptions being Brunei and Malaysia.”
For countries who are within the partnership, this means they have opened up their markets to each other, therefore reducing trade barriers and tariffs.
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