UK joins Asia-Pacific CPTPP trade bloc that includes Japan and Australia
Britain has joined the 11-member strong Asia-Pacific trade bloc that includes Japan and Australia after nearly two years of negotiations.
The deal, part of a push to agree worldwide trade deals after Brexit, secures access for British exporters to 500 million people in the 11-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The agreement, secured after 21 months of talks, will allow exporters to “seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation”, the government said.
Spanning Canada, Mexico, Japan, Australia, Vietnam and Malaysia, the CPTPP is expected to be ratified by the UK parliament and those of the other 11 member states later this year.
The government said the deal, which will cut tariffs on exports of food, drink and cars, would generate £1.8bn of extra income once it had been up and running for 10 years, which is about 0.08% of the UK’s annual gross national product (GDP).
Unions condemned clauses in the deal that will allow large companies to sue the UK government behind closed doors if they believe their profits have suffered from changes to laws or regulations.
The TUC’s general secretary, Paul Nowak, said: “This deal allows multinational corporations to sue the UK government in secret courts for introducing policies which threaten their profits – this could include an increase in the minimum wage or bringing energy companies back into public ownership.”
Nowak said the deal would sanction the exploitation of workers in Vietnam and Brunei “where independent unions are banned, and Malaysia where migrant workers are subject to forced labour”.
As the first non-founding member of the bloc, the UK is expected to set the template for other applicants to join, including Costa Rica
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