LAST week, as the UK’s Trade Minister, I attended the annual meeting of Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Ministers, which this year was hosted by Canada.
The CPTPP is one of the largest free trade blocs in the world, with 11 current members and some of the world’s most dynamic economies, including Japan, Australia, Singapore and Vietnam.
The UK is due to formally accede to membership of the CPTPP this month. The bloc is home to over 500 million people with a total GDP of £11 trillion once the UK joins. Membership will strengthen our ties across the Indo-Pacific region and open new trade opportunities for UK businesses.
The Government anticipates that the benefits membership will bring include opening new markets for UK service providers, cutting tariffs on goods exports and helping to diversify supply chains, increasing access to high-quality imported goods, strengthening economic security and enhancing investment in the UK.
Joining the CPTPP could also boost the Scottish economy by improving businesses’ access to some of the world’s largest markets. Key Scottish exports such as whisky could benefit from the removal of tariffs through the agreement, with the UK having exported over £1.1bn worth of whisky to CPTPP countries in 2022 in current prices. For example, tariffs of around 80 per cent will be eliminated on UK exports of whisky to Malaysia over 16 years, improving market access for Scottish exporters.
As a member of CPTPP, the UK will also help influence and shape global rules for industries of the future like digital, data and services, and secure our place as a global leader in a network of countries committed to free trade.
I made it clear at the ministerial meeting that the UK intends to be a highly engaged and active member of the bloc. I look forward to Scottish businesses seeing the benefits of our membership of CPTPP in the years ahead.
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