SN: Britain has signed an agreement to join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc
The British government on Sunday signed an agreement to join a major Indo-Pacific bloc that will boost trade with member states by reducing import tariffs, Sky News reported.
Britain became the first European nation to join the regional trade bloc, founded in 2018. It includes Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
“The Minister for Business and Trade signed the accession protocol to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership in New Zealand on Sunday”, the TV channel reported.
According to the TV channel, it is the UK’s biggest trade deal since Brexit. It includes tariff cuts for British exporters to member states of the agreement, a combined gross domestic product (GDP) that will total £12 trillion after the UK joins, which in turn, officials say, will account for 15 per cent of global GDP.
The TV channel quotes Business and Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch as saying that the pact ” will bring billions of pounds in additional trade, as well as opening up huge opportunities and unprecedented access to a market of more than 500 million people”.
It is noted that negotiations on the UK’s accession lasted two years. The TV channel, citing officials, reports that the agreement will enter into force in the second half of 2024, after which the UK will become a voting member of the bloc.
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