Exactly a year after leaving the European Union, the U.K is weighing its trading options. The U.K government is reportedly looking to become a member of The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Partnership (CPTPP). The pact brings together eleven countries, including Australia, Canada, Japan and Vietnam.
CPTPP Membership Synergies
Immediate reports indicate that the trade Minister Liz Truss is to hold formal meetings with her counterparts in Japan and New Zealand about the possibility of joining the trading block. The U.K is hoping to join CPTPP in a bid to remove tariffs on food drinks and cars. The pact should also go a long way in boosting the technology and services sectors.
Becoming part of CPTPP will accord the U.K access to economies that account for 13% of the global economic output. However, there are growing concerns as to whether the U.K will reap any benefits given that the trade deal will involve countries thousands of miles away. The U.K intends to publish an assessment of all economic benefits that would come into play on joining the block.
Struggling U.K Economy
Since the U.K left the European Union, it has moved to strengthen its bilateral trade agreements having already inked a pact with seven members of the CPTPP. The U.K government hopes that the deals already in place would go a long way in strengthening its case of joining the trading block.
The U.K economy remains one of the hardest hit in the aftermath of the pandemic taking a significant toll on various sectors of the economy. The lack of direct collaboration with the European Union has always been the case and has exacerbated the situation, forcing the government to look elsewhere.
Joining the likes of CTPP is part of a bigger plan to get market for some of the Kingdom’s biggest exports, including Whiskey and Cars. The fact that the country is now subject to exorbitant tariffs on leaving the E.U has all but necessitated the need to ink deals with other trading blocks.
