Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, when the UK will join The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership.

On 28^th September, the UK took the next step on the pathway to membership of this important and growing trading group, kicking off the first round of talks with officials from all Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) member countries. This has been followed by technical discussions on a range of areas including e-commerce and procurement. The UK has an ambitious timeline for UK accession to CPTPP and hopes to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.