The CPTPP delivers on a post-Brexit agenda for a modern, free-trading global Britain. The UK's membership represents the future of our global trade, partnering with Japan, Canada, Australia, Singapore and New Zealand, and emerging markets such as Mexico, Malaysia and Vietnam. It adds another like-minded partner and strong voice to this powerful alliance, taking the trade bloc’s GDP to £11 trillion. It gives UK businesses tariff-free access on over 99 per cent of goods to a market of around 500 million customers. The partnership will also provide new opportunities for tech, data and the services sector supporting UK businesses and jobs.
I welcome that the Business and Trade Secretary has now officially signed our Accession Protocol to the CPTPP. The next step in the accession process will be a legal review of the agreement text. This will be followed by formal signature of the agreement. After this, the Department for Business and Trade will commission the Trade and Agriculture Commission to prepare its advice on the impact of the agreement on plant and animal life. The agreement text will then be formally laid in Parliament.
The Government has taken the time to get this deal right, and would never allow the UK's high standards to be compromised. Negotiations ensured protections on healthcare, the environment, animal welfare and food. As a major economy and strong advocate of free trade, the UK will support the trade bloc to shape the high standards of global trade, particularly in the face of increased protectionism. I am assured that, as a signatory to the CPTPP, the UK would crucially not be required to cede control over its laws, border or money.