The British government announced, on Saturday evening, that the United Kingdom will formally apply on Monday for membership in the Comprehensive and Advance Pacific Partnership Agreement (CPTPP), a trade agreement involving 11 Pacific countries.

CPTCC is a 2018 free trade agreement concluded by 11 countries – Australia, Brunei, Chile, Japan, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam – after the United States withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). ), And as a result the latter did not take effect. CPTPP countries have a population of about 500 million, and together they produce more than 13 percent of global GDP. The goal of CPTPP is to eliminate or reduce 95 percent. Customs duties in trade between member states.

As the British government announced, on Monday, International Trade Secretary Lise Truss will formally apply for membership during talks with the ministers of Japan and New Zealand, and negotiations are expected to start in the spring. Information on submitting an application to join the CPTPP was announced on the eve of the first anniversary of the UK’s official withdrawal from the European Union, on Sunday. One of the main arguments in favor of Brexit has been that the UK will be able to pursue its trade policy and enter into trade deals on its own.

“One year after our exit from the European Union, we are in the process of establishing new partnerships that will bring huge economic benefits to the British people. Applying to be the first new country to join CPTPP shows our ambition to do business on the best terms with our friends,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said Our partners around the world and being passionate champions of global free trade.

According to data from the British Department of International Trade, trade with 11 countries of the joint cooperative partnership between the two countries reached 111 billion pounds last year, and has grown at an average rate of 8% since 2016. annually. 8.4 percent goes to CPTPP countries. British exports. London already has FTAs ​​with most CPTPP members, although they are in fact temporary agreements to extend EU FTAs.

If the UK were accepted into the CPTPP, it would become the first non-founding member and the second largest economy under the treaty – after Japan.