UK to Join New Economically Dynamic Indo-Pacific Bloc

On 16 July 2023, the UK Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch signed off accession instrument for UK to become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (#CPTPP) during a visit in New Zealand.

The CPTPP was created in 2018 and comprises of eleven member states: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Thus, UK becomes the 12th member and is the first European nation to join after two years of negotiation.

In other words, the #CPTPP is basically an #FTA covering mostly the #IndoPacific with a combined market of more than 500 million people. In #GDP terms, the bloc cumulates USD 15.7 trillion, which accounts to about 15% of global #GDP.

The agreement will have to go through Parliament before it is ratified and comes in effect. Analysts familiar with the matter forecast this may happen in the second semester of 2024.