LONDON (Aug 29): The British government said on Thursday that its agreement to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) would enter into force by Dec 15 this year, after it received the final ratification required.

CPTPP is a free trade agreement sealed in 2018 among 11 countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Britain is the only European member of the CPTPP and the first new country to join since its inception.

Britain concluded negotiations to join the pact in March 2023 and formally signed the accession treaty in July that year, but required the ratification by its own government and at least six other member states.

Britain said Peru had become the sixth country to ratify the terms of its accession, after Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand and Vietnam. The agreement will come into force with those members this year, and subsequently with other members as they ratify.

“This is good news for UK businesses, who are now one step closer to being able to take advantage of the opportunities our membership of CPTPP will bring,” Minister of State for Trade Policy Douglas Alexander said in a statement.

The CPTPP requires countries to eliminate or significantly reduce tariffs, and make strong commitments to opening services and investment markets, and has rules around competition, intellectual property rights and protections for foreign companies.

The British government said more than 99% of current United Kingdom (UK) goods exports to CPTPP members would be tariff-free once the deal enters into effect, potentially helping boost the UK economy by around two billion pounds (US$2.6 billion, or RM11.37 billion) annually by 2040.

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