by Alistair Smout and Kaori Kaneko
LONDON/TOKYO, March 31 (Reuters) – Britain announced on Friday it had reached an agreement to join the comprehensive and progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership as London seeks to strengthen its ties in the Asia-Pacific region.
British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak announced that Britain has agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a move his office described as the most important trade deal since Brexit.
“Joining the CPTPP places the UK at the center of a vibrant and growing group of Pacific economies,” Rishi Sunak said in a statement, adding that the deal demonstrates “the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.”
Britain has been looking to develop its international trade links since leaving the European Union in 2020.
The CPTPP was ratified in 2018 by Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Great Britain is the first new member to join the association agreement.
(Alistair Smout Report; French version Camille Raynaud)
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