Kemi Badenoch says UK joining CPTPP is ‘very big deal’
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has called for the UK to have a “closer trading relationship with the EU” after the Government signed a major post-Brexit deal to join an Indo-Pacific trade bloc which he said has a “yield [that] is very small”. Do you agree with the opposition leader? Vote in our poll.
Britain is to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a group of 11 countries.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said that the agreement puts the UK in a “prime position” to grow the economy, adding that it “will help us unlock the benefits of Brexit for people across the UK”.
However, Sir Keir has warned that the “yield is very small”. During a visit to Burts Crisps factory in Plymouth, on Friday, March 31, Sir Keir said: “I welcome any trade deal, but I have to say we need to bear in mind that the net contribution to our economy will be something in the order of 0.08 percent.
“What we need alongside that is a closer trading relationship with the EU. Businesses across the country are crying out for a better deal than the one that the Government has put in front of them.”
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He continued: “So, yes, good to have a new trade deal, but better to have a closer relationship with the EU to go alongside it and to help our businesses grow our economy and take us through and out of this cost-of-living crisis.
“I do think it’s an important trade deal, but the yield is very small. Hopefully, that will grow over time. But the rule in trade is that you’re more likely to trade with your nearer neighbours more and more often, so we do need that improved, that better trading relationship with the EU alongside any other trade deals that we sign.”
The CPTPP deal will reduce tariffs for UK exporters with a total gross domestic product (GDP) of £11trillion, accounting for 15 percent of global GDP.
So what do YOU think? Should the UK have a closer trading relationship with the EU? Vote in our poll and leave your thoughts in the comment section below.
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