UK readies application to join Pacific trade partnership

LONDON (AP) — It may be on the other side of the world, but that's not stopping the U.K. from applying to join a trade partnership in and around the Pacific Ocean.

A year after it formally left the European Union, the British government said Saturday that it wants to join the 11-country Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

International Trade Secretary Liz Truss is set to speak to officials in Japan and New Zealand on Monday to formally make the request. Negotiations are expected to commence this year.

The government says joining the partnership would deepen ties with fast-growing economies, including Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam.

The United States, the world's biggest economy, is not part of the partnership; former President Donald Trump, withdrew the country from its predecessor, the Trans-Pacific Partnership. China, the world's No. 2 economy, also does not belong.

The U.K.'s aim in joining is the benefit of lower tariffs for the British economy. The government says the partnership removes tariffs on 95% of goods traded between members.

It is a much looser arrangement than the one for members of the EU, which the U.K. formally left on Jan. 31, 2020, since the Trans-Pacific agreement does not involve deep political integration.

“Applying to be the first new country to join the CPTPP demonstrates our ambition to do business on the best terms with our friends and partners all over the world and be an enthusiastic champion of global free trade," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said.

The U.K.'s trade with the partnership was worth 111 billion pounds (about $152 billion) in 2019, with Japan accounting for near one-quarter. Though substantial, the amount is around six times less than the business the U.K. conducts with the EU.

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