UK, Having Left the EU, Plans to Join TPP Early Next Year to "Access Pacific Market"

Liz Truss, UK Secretary of State for International Trade
Photo by EPA Yonhap News

[Asia Economy Reporter Jeong Hyunjin] The United Kingdom is expected to pursue formal membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) early next year. This move aims to expand economic cooperation with Asia and other non-regional countries following the end of the Brexit transition period.

According to Japan's Nihon Keizai Shimbun on the 16th, Liz Truss, the UK Secretary of State for International Trade, stated in Parliament on the 14th, "I hope we can officially support (TPP) early next year," expressing her intention to pursue formal TPP membership. Secretary Truss said, "UK exporters will gain access to the rapidly growing Pacific market."

Although there had been previous expectations that the UK would seek to join the TPP after leaving the EU, this is the first time a specific timeline has been mentioned. To prepare for TPP membership, the UK must conduct separate informal consultations with the 11 member countries?Japan, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, and Brunei?and prepare its application.

Nihon Keizai noted, "Accelerating preparations for TPP membership not only speeds up economic cooperation with Asia but also serves as a measure to prepare for potential breakdowns in negotiations with the EU," citing recent difficulties in trade talks due to the introduction of the Internal Market Bill.

However, Nihon Keizai reported that TPP membership alone will not replace the volume of trade the UK previously conducted with the EU. Last year, the proportion of UK trade with TPP member countries was only 7.8%, which is less than half of the trade volume with the EU and less than the trade volume with the United States (16.2%).

There is also analysis suggesting that the UK's TPP membership could face challenges. Since the UK would be joining an already established TPP framework, it would have to accept the current negotiation terms as they are.

From Japan's perspective, the UK's membership strengthens the TPP's influence as a means to counterbalance China in the Asia-Pacific region, Nihon Keizai explained. The combined economic scale of the 11 current TPP member countries accounts for about 13% of the world's gross domestic product (GDP), and with the UK's accession, this is expected to rise to 16%. Earlier, on the 11th, the UK signed the 'UK-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.'