11 Pacific Nations Begin Talks On Possible UK CPTPP Entry

A virtual meeting of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) commission on Wednesday decided to formally begin negotiations with the United Kingdom on its potential entry to the bloc, stated the Japanese minister heading up CPTPP talks, Yasutoshi Nishimura.

• Japan, as the chair of the CPTPP commission this year, made the official proposal of starting negotiations following the UK's application to join submitted on 1 February.
• The UK would be the first non-Pacific country to join the group. Current members are: Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, Singapore, Peru, and Vietnam, with seven of these having ratified the treaty (which came into force provisionally in 2018).
• The 11 CPTPP members accounted for just 7.5% of UK exports in 2019, compared to 47.0% going to countries in the European Union. Moreover, the relative economic sizes of the blocs is also in the EU's favour, with nominal GDP standingUSD17.1trn for the EU in 2021 according to IMF data, with the CPTPP nations equating to a combined USD12.0trn (although this would rise to USD34.7trn if the US rejoined). The demographic advantage for the CPTPP comes in its population, standing at 509.7mn, compared to 447.7mn for the EU, providing the UK with a larger base of potential consumers for its exports than the EU.
• As well as officially proposing talks with the UK begin, Japan - in its position as chair - has attempted to try to bring the US back into the deal. Former President Donald Trump took the US out of the deal in one of the first acts of his presidency. Incumbent President Joe Biden has shown little interest in taking the US back in, with FTAs often being viewed with significant suspicion among key swing voters in the US midwest and north east whose switch from Trump to Biden gave the former VP victory in the 2020 presidential election.