Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask His Majesty's Government what progress they have made in negotiations for the UK’s membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP); and when they expect to accede to membership.

The UK is continuing to negotiate accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership. Recent discussions have seen the department make considerable progress towards concluding talks, aiming to finish them at the earliest opportunity. The Government is working to ensure that the UK joins on terms that work for British business and are in line with domestic priorities.

Joining CPTPP will offer significant benefits to exporters. It could give tariff free access to up to 99% of UK goods, to export to a market of 500 million people, while reducing barriers to our world leading service firms.