Prime Minister Rishi Sunak on Friday said Britain had agreed to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), in a move his office said was the biggest trade deal since Brexit.
“We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms,” Sunak said in a statement posted on the government website.
“As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.”
The CPTPP is the successor to a previous trans-Pacific trade pact that the United States withdrew from under former President Donald Trump in 2017.
Its members include fellow G7 members Canada and Japan, and historic UK allies Australia and New Zealand. The remaining members are Mexico, Chile and Peru, along with Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam and Brunei.
Britain has been looking to build global trade ties following its departure from the EU in 2020 and has looked to pivot towards geographically distant but fast-growing economies.
Ecuador, Costa Rica and Uruguay have also applied for membership.