The UK has struck its biggest trade deal since Brexit, joining CPTPP, a major Indo-Pacific free trade bloc.
The Alliance for Democracy and Freedom broadly welcome the UK’s accession to the CPTPP, a move brokered by former Prime Minister Liz Truss during her time as International Trade Secretary.
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a free trade organisation whose member states predominantly lie around the periphery of the Pacific Ocean. The UK falls into this category having Pitcairn Island, the refuge of the HMS Bounty mutineers, as an overseas territory in the Pacific. The Partnership has a population of some 500 million and, with the UK’s accession, a GDP of around £11 trillion. This is roughly 87% of the EU’s GDP but, in an area of higher growth.
Unlike the EU, the CPTPP is not a political union so does not come with all of the constraints and obligations associated with EU membership. The Partnership will not be making laws for the UK and we will not be making laws for it. It won’t be dictating our immigration policies or demanding that we hand over a large chunk of our VAT receipts. It will undoubtedly be a boon for the UK economy. Membership will also make rejoining the EU far more difficult, which we welcome unreservedly.
The government must do all it can to ensure as many UK businesses as possible benefit from this new deal and not just the global corporations it so obviously favours. There is no reason why UK small and medium enterprises (SMEs) couldn’t get involved trading with these new partners but, the government must first take its tax and regulatory boot off their necks. We’ve lost over 150,000 SMEs to Conservative lockdown and tax policies since 2020. This has to stop.