Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, what steps he plans to take to ensure that the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership benefits all parts of the UK equally.

The United Kingdom as a whole will accede to the CPTPP, and every nation and region of the UK is expected to benefit from the agreement, which is expected to increase GDP by £2 billion a year in the long run as published in the Department’s Impact Assessment (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/cptpp-impact-assessment). Northern Ireland’s gross value added (GVA) is estimated to increase by around £70 million from UK accession to the CPTPP (relative to 2019 values).

The Department has started hosting a series of events leading up to entry into force to ensure businesses are aware of, and know how to take advantage of, the opportunities CPTPP will present. This activity is spread across the UK, including events across the Nations and Regions of the UK, and will increase in the run-up to and beyond entry into force of CPTPP.