“The UK is expected to become the first non-founding member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), giving businesses easier access to tens of millions of middle-class consumers and a $10 trillion market.
The accession will be announced as soon as Friday, a source said, with trade ministers expected to meet on Thursday night to sign it off.
As well as bolstering the British economy, the deal would also be a further statement of intent about Britain's determination to play a role on the global stage after signing the Aukus defence pact with the US and Australia.
Stephanie Rickard, professor of political science at the London School of Economics, said: “The UK is trailblazing. This is changing the agreement from being a regional agreement to a global agreement.”
Shanker Singham, a former trade adviser to the Government, said that CPTPP and Britain combined would have an equal economic weight to the European Union - while the structure of the partnership means any attempt to rejoin the EU would become impossible because of clashing regulations between the two blocs.
He said: "Accession would be a huge triumph for UK negotiators, and for the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business and International Trade in particular. It would mark the point at which Brexit could not be reversed."
Gerard Lyons, a former adviser to Boris Johnson who is now an economist at Netwealth investment services, said: “This is something that would not have been possible if we were in the EU. Leaving the customs union allows the UK to reposition itself in the changing global economy.“
www.theguardian.com
