Context: 

Recently, The U.K. acceded to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

• The agreement will now need to be ratified by Westminster and each of the CPTPP member countries.

Joining the CPTPP could provide several benefits for the UK, such as:

• The British government said the deal would mean that more than 99% of British exports — including for key markets such as cheese, cars, chocolate, machinery, gin and whisky —would have zero tariffs.
• The government said the deal was a “gateway” to the Indo Pacific region which would account for a majority (54%) of global economic growth in the future. 
• It will also, as a CPTPP member, get a veto on whether China joins the treaty. 

About Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP)

• It is a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) between Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam.
• The CPTPP was signed by 11 countries in 2018 in Santiago, Chile.
• After the US withdrew from negotiations of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), the remaining 11 participants scrambled to amend the text of the agreement, and the newly renamed CPTPP was signed.
• The Agreement stipulates that no party is allowed to increase customs duty on an originating good or adopt any new customs duty with respect to it. 
  • Rather, parties have been mandated to eliminate these customs duties as per commitments set forth in the annexure.

Source: The Hindu 

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