Kemi Badenoch hails ‘huge opportunity’ as she signs Indo-Pacific trade deal

Kemi Badenoch hailed “big opportunities” today as she signed a key post-Brexit deal for the UK to join the Indo-Pacific trading bloc.

The Minister of Trade has given written notice of membership of the CCTPP group, consisting of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The area is home to 500 million people and has a combined GDP of around £12 trillion.

After the ceremony in Auckland, Ms Badenoch said: “This will be a major boost for British businesses, opening up tremendous opportunities and unprecedented access to a market of over 500 million people in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”

Officials underscored the importance of the deal despite the distance to the UK, noting that in 2019 one in 100 workers was employed by a company headquartered in a CPTPP member state – equivalent to over 400,000 jobs across the country.

The Government will now proceed to ratify the agreement, which will include consideration by Parliament, while other CPTPP countries complete their own legislative processes to confirm the UK’s accession.

Officials expect it to come into effect in the second half of 2024. Then the UK will become a voting member of the Union and businesses will be able to benefit.

While the UK already has trade deals with CPTPP members other than Malaysia and Brunei, officials said it will deepen existing deals, with 99% of current UK goods exports to the bloc eligible for zero tariffs.

Officials say milk producers will gain export opportunities to Canada, Chile, Japan and Mexico, while beef, pork and poultry producers will gain better access to the Mexican market.

But critics say the impact will be limited. Official estimates are that after ten years this will only add £1.8 billion a year to the economy, which is less than 1 per cent of UK GDP.

The deal represents a continuation of the post-Brexit political “tilt” towards the Indo-Pacific, where around half of the world’s middle-class consumers are expected to live by 2035.

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