‘Beyond the Galapagos Syndrome’: Mapping the Future of UK-Japan Economic Cooperation Luke Cavanaugh (ed.), Olivia Bisbee, Owain Cooke, Kezzie Florin-Sefton, Elizabeth Steel
The CPTPP, a free-trade agreement currently involving 11 countries from the Pacific Rim, came into force in 2018 after 8 years of negotiations. 69 While the US was a major member of the initial TPP negotiations and agreement, former President Donald Trump withdrew America from the agreement in 2016, leaving the remaining members to rework the TPP into the CPTPP. Once launched, the CPTPP almost completely removed tariffs between members (with exceptions for select highly sensitive goods), has a single set of rules of origin, and outlines numerous other rules and market access measures. With its current membership, the CPTPP accounts for approximately 13% of global GDP, and is likely to continue to grow as numerous countries have now formally and informally indicated their desire to accede to the group. 70
Among these applicants is the UK, which officially applied to join the group on 1 February 2021. While the UK already has trade agreements with 7 of the 11 CPTPP members, it is hoped that joining the group will increase British access to growing markets in the region and increase British presence and influence in the Indo-Pacific.71 The UK’s exports to the current members of the CPTPP is expected to increase by 65% by 2030, amounting to £37bn: membership in the
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Current founding members are Japan, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, New Zealand, Australia, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Vietnam. 70
James Kane, ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)’, Institute for Government (February 2, 2021) https://www.instituteforgovernment.org.uk/explainers/trade-cptpp accessed 17 October 2021 71 Jagannath Panda, 'Japan-UK: 'Progressive' Ties and a Case for Britain in the CPTPP', (April 13,2021) https://isdp.eu/content/uploads/2021/04/Japan-UK-Progressive-Ties-and-a-Case-for-Britain-in-th e-CPTPP-IB-13.04.21.pdf accessed 17 October 2021
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