The United Kingdom will apply for membership in the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Agreement - the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) - the British Department for International Trade announced on Saturday (January 30) in a statement.
The Minister for International Trade Liz Truss will officially request Monday the adhesion of the United Kingdom to this free trade agreement, which brings together eleven countries of the Pacific zone including Australia, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico and Vietnam.
Negotiations between London and CPTPP partners are expected to start this year, the ministry said
A year after London's departure from the European Union, "
we are forging new partnerships which will bring enormous economic benefits to the people of the United Kingdom
", reacted British Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
The CPTPP was launched in 2019 to remove trade barriers between its eleven countries, which represent nearly 500 million consumers in the Asia-Pacific region.
Its objective is also to counter the growing economic influence of China.
This Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is the new version of the Trans-Pacific Free Trade Pact (TPP) that was abandoned by Donald Trump.
