UK formally agrees to join major Indo-Pacific trading bloc, marking biggest post-Brexit deal

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The UK has officially agreed to become the first European country to join a major Indo-Pacific trading bloc, in what marks the world's biggest ever deal Britain's trade since Brexit, despite forecasts that put its value at just £1.8 billion a year.

The Government's Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch signed the memorandum on Sunday membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in New Zealand, which brought the entire bloc GDP to £12 trillion, or 15% of the global share.

His signature officially confirms the agreement reached in March after two years of negotiations, and officials from Britain and the 11 other members of the bloc will now begin work to ratify the agreement, which will require parliamentary review and legislation in the UK to bring it into effect.

While most of the details were agreed earlier this year, the terms and conditions of UK membership will be will be released on Sunday - including commitments the UK is making to other countries on market access.

Put pen to paper in Auckland alongside CPTPP country ministers , Ms Badenoch said: "I am delighted to be here in New Zealand to sign a deal which will be a big boost for UK businesses and generate billions of pounds of additional trade, as well as opening up enormous opportunities and unprecedented access to a market of over 500 million people.

"We are using our status as an independent trading nation to join an exciting, growing and forward-looking trading bloc , which will help grow the UK economy and build on the hundreds of thousands of jobs that CPTPP-owned businesses are already supporting from top to bottom across the country."

To coincide with the signing , the government has released figures showing that companies with CPTPP headquarters employed 1 in 100 UK workers in 2019, representing over 400,000 jobs across the country.

Membership of the CPTPP trade group - established in 2018 and comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam - is expected to strengthen this investment relationship .