UK to apply for Asia-Pacific free trade bloc membership
Britain PM Boris Johnson
Britain is set to formally apply to join the 11-nation free-trade bloc of Asia-Pacific countries weeks after leaving the European single market with its departure from the EU.
The partnership represents 11 Pacific Rim nations including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss will formally request Monday for Britain to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the UK announced on Saturday.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the potential new partnership would "bring enormous economic benefits for the people of Britain".
The CPTPP application will come one year after Britain left the European Union following more than forty years of membership -- and after five years of complex trade discussions.
"Applying to be the first new country to join the CPTPP demonstrates our ambition to dobusiness on the best terms with our friends and partners all over the world and be anenthusiastic champion of global free trade," Johnson said.
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Negotiations between the UK and the partnership are expected to start this year, the trade department said.
The CPTPP was launched in 2019 to remove trade barriers among the 11 nations representing nearly 500 million consumers in the Asia-Pacific region in a bid to counter China's growing economic influence.
The partnership is an updated version of a giant deal originally backed by former US president Barack Obama.
The United States pulled out of the agreement under Donald Trump's presidency -- turning away from what he viewed as unfavourable multilateral deals -- but 11 countries eventually agreed to sign the new version.
Following Britain's definitive departure from the European Union after a one year transition period out of the European single market at the end of 2020, the UK has sought to advance the brand of "Global Britain" in 2021.
The UK holds the rotating presidency of the G7 in 2021 and takes over the presidency of the UN Security Council in February.
British trade minister will speak to counterparts in Japan and New Zealand on Monday with a formal request to join CPTPP, the statement added.