London, March 31 (BNA): The United Kingdom has agreed to join an Asia-Pacific trade agreement that includes Japan, Mexico and Australia – the biggest new trade deal since Britain left the European Union three years ago.
The British government said on Friday that it had reached an agreement after nearly two years of negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Advanced Agreement of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, or CPTPP.
The government said membership would cut tariffs on British dairy products and other goods, and remove red tape for services, boosting Britain’s economy by 1.8 billion pounds ($2.2 billion) “in the long term”.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said the deal “demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms,” reports the Associated Press.
“Joining the CPTPP trade bloc puts the UK at the center of a dynamic and growing group of Pacific economies, as the first new country and the first European country to join,” said Sunak.
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