July 30, 2018

The Government is inviting comments on the UK’s future trade policy with the US, Australia, New Zealand and on the UK’s potential membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. People are invited to share their views on which areas matter to them most as well as any concerns they have.

The launch of the consultations follows the statement to Parliament by International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox last week, in which he set out the Government’s approach to a “transparent and inclusive UK trade policy which takes in the views of MPs, devolved governments, businesses, civil society groups and consumers‘”.

The Government says that if the UK were to join CPTPP, it would be the second largest economy in the group, and CPTPP’s coverage of global GDP would increase to around 17%. The agreement reduces 95% of tariffs along with other barriers to trade among its 11 members, including Canada, Japan and Singapore. Further, the 11 existing members of CPTPP accounted for £82 billion of UK trade in 2016. To access the consultation, click here.