The UK has formally agreed to become the first European country to join a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc, in what marks Britain’s biggest trade deal since Brexit – despite forecasts placing its value at just £1.8bn a year.
The government’s business and trade secretary Kemi Badenoch signed the accession protocol to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in New Zealand on Sunday, bringing the bloc’s combined GDP to £12 trillion – 15 per cent of the global share.
