Great Britain has signed an agreement to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). The deal will take effect after ratification by all 12 partnership members. Britain will be the first European member and the first new member of the CPTPP since its inception. Participation in the CPTPP will mean tariff elimination on exports of around 99% of British goods.
Eleven countries signed the CPTPP agreement in 2018: Australia, Brunei, Vietnam, Canada, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Chile, and Japan. The CPTPP is a trading bloc of about half a billion people with a combined gross domestic product of over $11T in 2021. Trans-Pacific Partnership countries primarily export electronics, machinery, automobiles, and mineral fuels.
Ukraine also expects to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership at the end of 2023 or the beginning of 2024.