Brexit Dividend13 Jan 2023 15:06
Step by step, the Pacific free trade pact is emerging as the epicentre of a new international trading order. It will increasingly set the tone and the rules of global commerce.
If all goes well, the UK will be a full member of this Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) within months, becoming the first European country to join the eclectic club of "middle powers". They have one shared objective: to make trade as easy as possible, subject to basic civilised standards.
Japan’s Fumio Kishida was in London this week pushing British accession along with the Anglo-Japanese defence pact. The view in Tokyo is that UK membership brings G7 heft and free-market credibility, taking the project closer to critical mass.
Today’s members are Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, and Brunei. Britain lifts the fast-expanding group to 16pc of global GDP.