According to the government in London, Great Britain is about to join the trans-Pacific trade agreement CPTPP. This was announced by the seat of government at 10 Downing Street on Friday night. The inclusion in the trade pact of the Pacific Rim countries should therefore take place before the end of this year.

The members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, which came into effect in 2018, include Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Singapore and Vietnam. However, Great Britain has already concluded bilateral free trade agreements with most of the participating countries. The economic advantage is therefore classified by experts as manageable and can by no means make up for the exit from the European Union.

"British companies will now have unprecedented access to markets from Europe to the South Pacific," said British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak, according to the statement. In the long term, the accession will contribute £1.8 billion (about 2 billion euros) to the country's economic output, the prime minister said.

The United States is not one of the signatory states. The United States was once the driving force behind what was then known as the TPP under ex-President Barack Obama, which was intended to counterbalance China's economic power. However, his successor Donald Trump was not interested and ended the talks.

Current US President Joe Biden has not shown any interest in joining the agreement. Should the USA decide otherwise, the free trade zone would gain considerably in importance.