The United Kingdom is part of various free trade deals.
The United Kingdom has officially become a part of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), making it the first European nation and the first new member to join since its initiation in 2018. This free trade zone previously encompassed countries like Canada, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, as well as Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
As per the British government, the alliance now comprises over 500 million people and accounts for approximately 15% of the global economic output. Once a member, various British-made goods will no longer be subject to tariffs when exported to CPTPP nations - including items such as automobiles, chocolate, and whisky.
Challenges Post-Brexit
With the CPTPP being the largest trade agreement the UK has signed since leaving the EU, ardent Brexit supporters have consistently argued that it would be simpler for London to forge free trade agreements with rapidly developing states outside the EU. Skeptics, however, believe that the advantages gained from these agreements may fail to outweigh the economic disadvantages caused by Brexit.
The CPTPP emerged after the United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017, under former President Donald Trump. The remaining eleven nations then renegotiated the agreement and signed a condensed version in 2018, which they named CPTPP. It is perceived as an economic counterbalance to China's increasingly significant influence in the region, although China too has expressed interest in becoming a member.
The UK began negotiating its admission into CPTPP back in February 2021. In 2023, then-Trade Minister Kemi Badenoch signed the accession protocol. The formalization of the accession was completed on the weekend.
The addition of the United Kingdom to the CPTPP significantly expands the economy of this free trade zone, contributing approximately 15% to its global economic output. Post-membership, British exports, such as automobiles, chocolate, and whisky, will no longer incur tariffs within CPTPP nations.
