Pacific trade deal hailed two years after PM 'mocked' it

Sir Keir Starmer’s government has hailed the UK becoming the first European nation to officially join an Indo-Pacific trade bloc, despite having said the impact of the deal would be very small” less than two years ago.

- MILLIE COOKE

At the beginning of 2023, when the UK began the process of joining the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), he offered a lukewarm view of the trade deal, pointing out that the “net contribution to our economy will be something in the order of 0.08 per cent”.

However, yesterday his business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said the agreement would “boost trade and create opportunities for UK companies abroad”.

The UK will become the 12th country to join the trade agreement, following years of procedure, having first put in an application in early 2021. Britain will enter into the agreement with eight of the bloc’s 11 existing members who first ratified the accession yesterday: Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam, Peru, Malaysia and Brunei.