The member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Treaty of Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreed to accept the accession of the United Kingdom at the end of March 2023. Shigeyuki Goto, Japan's Economic Recovery Minister, confirmed the news stating that the UK's accession to the TPP was very significant for promoting free trade and also an open and competitive market.
The eleven CPTPP member countries (Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) reached this decision during a meeting held online and waiting for it to be formally approved during a ministerial meeting scheduled for July 15 and 16. It will be the first expansion of the treaty to a country that was not among its founding members.
According to a statement released by the Accession Working Group, Britain “has provided commercially significant market access offers of the highest level in goods, services, investments, financial services, government procurement, state-owned enterprises, and temporary entry for business persons.”
The United Kingdom began the process of joining the treaty in 2021 -one of its key trade strategies following its exit from the European Union-, becoming the first non-Pacific country to apply for membership.
China, Taiwan, and Uruguay have also begun the process of accession to the Trans-Pacific Partnership, which covers a market of almost 500 million people, 13% of the world's GDP, and is one of the largest free trade agreements in the world. With the accession of the United Kingdom, the TPP would cover 15% of the world's GDP.
Source: simfruit.cl