UK foreign secretary Liz Truss who was in Malaysia earlier this week said the country is currently negotiating terms with CPTPP’s accession working group chaired by Japan, as well as with member countries such as Australia, New Zealand and Malaysia.
She said the CPTPP has very high standards, and joining the trade pact which removes 95% of tariffs between its members, among other things, would be beneficial for the UK’s trade and economy, and also in terms of influencing the overall global trade.
“As we recover from the Covid-19 pandemic, we need more trade, and we need more high-quality trade.
“So what the UK wants to do is to join the CPTPP to gain access to those markets, and promote us as having a reliable supply chain with trusted countries such as Malaysia,” she told Bernama in an interview during her working visit here on Monday.
The CPTPP is a free trade deal by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Together, these countries have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) of US$13.5 trillion and a population of over 500 million people.
The agreement was signed in March 2018 and took effect at the end of that year. Any new entry in the CPTPP requires the unanimous support of all the trade bloc’s members.
The UK formally applied to join the CPTPP on Feb 1 this year, while its accession process began on June 2.
“We expect to be able to join the CPTPP by the end of 2022,” said Truss, who played a key role in the UK’s application to join the trade bloc when serving as Secretary of State for International Trade prior to her appointment to her current post in September this year.
On another development, the foreign secretary said the UK will engage more constructively with Asean in its new status as a Dialogue Partner to the grouping.
“We are delighted to have attained the Asean Dialogue Partner status in August, and we want to use the opportunity to work more closely with Asean nations to promote better economic and security ties, as well as to develop closer ties with countries across the region,” Truss said.
In 2020, trade between the UK and Asean nations was worth almost £34 billion (about US$46 billion).
The foreign secretary said the UK wishes to establish a closer partnership with Asean through “Build Back Better” – the British government’s plan to support economic growth through significant green and sustainable investment in infrastructure, skills and innovation.
Truss also spoke about the UK’s Commonwealth Development Corporation, which, among other things, explores investment opportunities in countries like Malaysia for government-backed investments.
She said the UK is currently working with partners around the world, including the United States and Japan to develop specific programmes and funding facilities, as well as to encourage more private financial institutions to venture into this part of the world.