Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what assessment she has made of the potential effect of the UK's membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership on (a) the local economy and (b) job creation in Dorset.

Accession could see 99.9% of British exports being eligible for tariff-free trade with members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP/TPP-11). £1.8bn worth of goods were exported to CPTPP countries by over 1,300 businesses in the South West of England last year.

HM Government published a scoping assessment in June 2021 that showed accession could result in a gross value added benefit to the South West of England of £106m, and increase real wages across the United Kingdom by £800m in the long run, compared to 2019 levels.