TOKYO (Reuters) – The 11 members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are expected to soon reach broad agreement with Britain on it joining the pact, two sources familiar with the matter told Reuters on Wednesday.
An announcement is expected to be made soon, the sources added, declining to be identified because the information has not been made public.
Britain has been looking to build global trade ties following its departure from the European Union.
It began negotiations in June 2021 to join the CPTPP grouping as it also looks to pivot toward geographically distant but fast-growing economies.
Other members of the group are Japan, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
Membership will supplement existing bilateral trade deals Britain has with several of the member countries, with the overall aim of further cutting tariffs on goods and reducing barriers to services and digital trade.
(Reporting by Kaori Kaneko in Tokyo, additional reporting by Alistair Smout in London; Editing by David Dolan and Emelia Sithole-Matarise)
