Rishi\u00a0<\/p>\n
Sunak says \u201cgood and constructive\u201d progress is being made in talks over Britain signing a bumper post-Brexit trade pact with Pacific nations.<\/p>\n
The deal – which could be rubber-stamped within weeks – will be worth tens of billions of pounds for UK businesses.<\/p>\n
It would be the second major breakthrough for the Prime Minister after his post-Brexit pact with the EU on Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Officials are on the verge of reaching an agreement in principle to accede to the 11-nation Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).<\/p>\n
The UK first applied to join the \u00a39 trillion bloc in early 2021 and accession is a major part of its wider post-Brexit foreign policy shift toward the Indo-Pacific.<\/p>\n
Members include Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Singapore, Japan, Chile, Vietnam and Malaysia.<\/p>\n
A report by the Centre for Policy Studies last year said joining the CPTPP could boost Britain\u2019s GDP by up to \u00a320 billion per year.<\/p>\n
Speaking during a visit to San Diego to agree to the next phase of a new Pacific defence pact with the USA and Australia, Mr Sunak said: \u201cLook with all these trade negotiations I\u2019ve said before It\u2019s important that we get them right.<\/p>\n
\u201cRather than – we shouldn\u2019t sacrifice quality for speed. I\u2019ve always said that about all trade negotiations.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut we\u2019ve been having good and constructive conversations and it\u2019s right that we continue to do so and I\u2019m hopeful that we\u2019ll be able to proceed that\u2019s been something that we\u2019ve been keen to do – we have to make sure that\u2019s on terms that are acceptable to us and .. those conversations have made good progress.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mr Sunak wouldn\u2019t be drawn on when an agreement could be sealed.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey have made good progress but again with all these things we shouldn\u2019t set ourselves arbitrary deadlines we should just make sure that these things work in British interests,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n
Key sticking points as talks have progressed include CPTPP member Canada\u2019s bid to get Britain to drop a ban on hormone-treated beef, something UK ministers have stressed will not happen.<\/p>\n
There has also been a push from Canada and Mexico for access to Britain’s agricultural market on a par with that granted to Australia and New Zealand in their own bilateral trade deals with the country.<\/p>\n
CPTPP accession would be seen as a major win for Mr Sunak, who produced a landmark deal earlier this month after long-running talks with the EU over post-Brexit trade rules for Northern Ireland.<\/p>\n
Japan, which has been leading the UKs accession process, took a keen interest in the negotiations because the Northern Ireland protocol – which introduced checks on trade from Great Britain to Northern Ireland post-Brexit – is baked into the UK\u2019s trade deals with Australia, New Zealand and Japan.<\/p>\n
When the UK accedes to CPTPP, the Northern Ireland protocol and Britain\u2019s trade relationship with the EU will also become part of the deal. Changes agreed with the EU will have knock-on effects on trade with bloc members.<\/p>\n