The ceremony was attended by the UK Trade Minister, Kemi Badenoch; the Minister of Foreign Trade and Tourism of Peru, Juan Carlos Mathewsas well as representatives of the economies that make up the CPTPP, reported the Andina news agency.
“I have just formally signed the UK entry into CPTPP in Auckland, New Zealand”communicated Badenoch adding: “This will be a huge boost for UK businesses and will open up huge opportunities and unprecedented access to a market of over 500 million people in the Indo-Pacific and beyond.”
“With the accession of the United Kingdom, Peru will obtain better access conditions for its exports of goods and services, for the temporary movement of Peruvian business people and for electronic commerce”said the Peruvian representative.
Who is part of the Trans-Pacific Agreement?
The signing took place in Auckland, the largest city in New Zealand, during the seventh Meeting of the Commission of the CPTPP, composed of ministers and senior officials of AustraliaBrunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam and Peru.
The United Kingdom thus became the first European country in the CPTPP, which will henceforth have 12 members and a GDP of 15.7 trillion dollars, indicated a statement from the British Ministry of Commerce.
The agreement should enter into force in the second half of 2024, after its parliamentary approval.
The UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade, Kemi Badenoch, said they were using their “status as an independent trading nation” to join a “modern, growing and forward-thinking trading bloc that will help grow the UK economy”.
Elimination of tariffs
The CPTPP will allow the UK immediately eliminate tariffs at 93.5% of the tariff universe; which represents 96.1% of bilateral trade between Peru and the United Kingdom.
In addition, more than 60 tariff lines, including corn, husked and broken rice, glucose, sugar syrups and rum, will receive more favorable treatment than in the current bilateral agreement.
Regarding Public Purchases, the CPTPP allows accumulation, which is not contemplated in the FTA between Peru and the United Kingdom. Thus, a Peruvian company could present goods or services originating from any CPTPP country in tenders in the United Kingdom, which will be subject to the principle of national treatment.
The United States was initially part of the group, but withdrew in 2017during the presidency of Donald Trump.
Since United Kingdom came out of the European Union (EU) and the single European market, at the beginning of 2021, multiply the contacts to make other agreements aimed at boosting their commercial exchanges.
“This deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms,” said the British Prime Minister, Rishi Sunak, when the conclusion of the deal was announced in March.
At that time, the government estimated that the implementation of the agreement would contribute 1.8 billion pounds (2.35 billion dollars) to the British economy.
In a document published in June, the government estimated that the increase would represent 0.08% of British GDP.
Source: Ambito
