File photo: People walk across London Bridge and enjoy the view of Tower Bridge in the City of London, October 25, 2023. REUTERS/Susanna Ireland/File photo
LONDON, United Kingdom — Britain on Sunday became the first European country to join a major Indo-Pacific trading bloc, in what is being hailed as the biggest trade deal since Brexit.
The United Kingdom has now officially become the 12th member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The UK formally signed the EU accession treaty last year.
Officials hope EU membership will boost Britain’s ailing economy by as much as 2 billion pounds ($2.5 billion) a year.
UK trade totalled £1.7 trillion in the 12 months to the end of September, according to government figures.
The alliance is made up of G7 members Canada and Japan, longtime allies Australia and New Zealand, as well as Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
The alliance, formed in 2018, is seen as a bulwark against Chinese dominance in the region, although Beijing has applied to join.
The bloc represents around 15% of global gross domestic product (GDP) and will provide UK businesses with trading opportunities into a market of more than 500 million people.
The previous Conservative government signed the deal with the UK in July 2023, with then-Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch calling it the “biggest trade deal” since Brexit.
Since leaving the EU single market in early 2021, the UK has struck a number of post-Brexit trade deals with countries including Australia, New Zealand and Singapore.
It is also pursuing a free trade agreement with the Gulf states, and last month Labour Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced that Britain and India would resume stalled talks to reach a free trade agreement.
A much-anticipated trade deal between China and the United States has yet to materialize, and will likely become even less likely when Donald Trump takes office in January.