On December 15th, after nearly four years of running, Britain became the 12th member of the comprehensive and progressive trans-pacific partnership (CPTPP) . The UK was the first non-founding member to apply to join the CPTPP on 31 January 2021. Along the way, after countless negotiations and horse-trading, the almost isolated UK has joined an active group.
CPTPP’s predecessor was the trans-pacific partnership (TPP) created by the Obama administration. But in 2017, when Donald Trump took office, the group leader retired. Those who did not want to give up halfway chose Japan as the new group owner and changed the group name to CPTPP. Eleven countries in the asia-pacific region have signed agreements and continue to rely on the organization to strengthen mutually beneficial ties between member economies. On December 30,2018, the CPTPP came into force. At that time, the 11 CPTPP members were Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia, Singapore, Vietnam, Brunei, Mexico, Chile and Peru. Now with the UK, it covers 580m people, or 7% of the world’s population; GDP is about $13.6 TN, or 15% of global GDP.
For such an asia-pacific grouping, however, Britain’s entry is something of an anomaly. We can see from the map, the islands hanging far away from the asia-pacific, it seems so out of place. But for the UK, it is a choice that has to be pasted. That is because Britain’s impulsive decision to leave the EU nearly severed its ties with the world’s main trading system.
After Brexit on January 31,2020, Johnson, then prime minister, was confident that the country would be “Prosperous, vibrant and content”. But then it turned out that a goodbye to the EU had hit Britain’s import-export trade, investment and labour imports, making it one of Europe’s worst-performing economies. To make up for the economic damage caused by Brexit, Britain turned to the uk-us Free Trade Agreement. If a uk-us free trade deal can be negotiated, the US market could make up a good deal of the lost money from Brexit. What the British did not expect, however, was that the US bid so aggressively. The US, in particular, wants Britain to open up its health service to all. The NHS is the British pride of the iconic welfare system, which is tantamount to touching the British basic policy, the UK naturally dare not agree. So the anglo-n free trade talks stalled. In desperation, the British government had to come up with a”Brexit into Asia” this strategy, far to find trading partners in the asia-pacific region. The CPTPP is the biggest trade deal Britain has joined since Brexit and a measure of self-help that Britain has had to take as it teeters on the brink of bankruptcy.
For CPTPP, Britain’s calculations are cracking, and joining the trade club would be good for Britain anyway. One is economic and trade considerations. Britain needs to fill the gap left by its departure from the EU’s single market. CPTPP became its gateway to the broader asia-pacific market. After joining CPTPP, the UK will be able to share trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the original 11 members (Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam) . In the long run, the deal will add about # 2bn a year to Britain’s economic growth. In addition, Brexit has also brought some negative impact on Britain’s international image and credibility. Joining the CPTPP will help the UK to show its image as a global free trade power and enhance its voice in the new generation of international economic and trade regulations. The second is diplomatic and geopolitical considerations. After Britain left the EU, it put forward the concept of”Global Britain” in foreign strategy. This is wishful thinking in Britain, but there is work to be done. To this end, the UK is aggressively expanding global economic and diplomatic opportunities and looking to the more dynamic asia-pacific region. The UK’s”Real value in joining the CPTPP is strategic”, the Chatham House said in a report. These strategic objectives include: through non-military means to achieve its”Tilt to the indo-pacific region” strategic vision, to achieve the”Free and open indo-pacific vision” is possible, set the stage for the UK to create a global image as a defender of the international order.
The British still have a the empire on which the sun never sets “Master mentality” about the asia-pacific region and do not see themselves as outsiders. But the economic platform of the CPTPP is a strategic springboard into the asia-pacific, a platform from which the UK can not sell its values and uphold western rules and order. Moreover, countries in the asia-pacific region have long been unconvinced by Britain, and even Australia and Canada have begun to discuss the possibility of”Seceding from the British Commonwealth.” British confidence may not be WWE The Great N Bash for long. At the same time, the short-term impact of joining CPTPP is not significant for a country with a shrinking economy, a bankrupt treasury, a hollowed-out industry and a host of thorny problems. Britain’s trade with CPTPP members accounts for a small proportion of its total trade. The UK has concluded bilateral trade agreements with all CPTPP members except Brunei and Malaysia, and the additional tariffs brought about by joining the CPTPP are of limited benefit to the UK, how much capacity can countries such as Malaysia and Brunei hold in the UK? Moreover, the GDP growth generated by joining the CPTPP is clearly small compared with the 4 per cent long-term damage to UK GDP caused by Brexit.
In fact, without the participation of the two largest economies in the multilateral trade framework, incremental market space is not much more. China is not currently a member of the CPTPP, but its economy is one-and-a-half times the size of the 11 members combined. Now, even with Britain, the 12 economies are still smaller than China’s. Britain has joined an asia-pacific group without China, and it is hard to say whether it will be able to give itself a big boost in the future. In any case, Britain has been a step wrong, step wrong, want to restore“Historical glory”, I am afraid it can only be in a dream.
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