UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss (Photo: AFP/VNA)

UK International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said CPTTP membership would be a huge opportunity for Britain. It would help shift the UK’s economic center of gravity away from Europe towards faster-growing parts of the world, and increase the UK’s access to massive consumer markets in the Asia-Pacific, Truss said, adding that the UK will get all the benefits of joining a high-standards free trade area without having to cede control of its borders, money, or laws.

Ms. Truss said the UK will continue to work closely with Japan, this year’s chair of the CPTPP commission, and the other CPTPP nations to conclude the negotiations as quickly as possible. The UK government will publish its outline approach, scoping assessment, and consultation response before negotiations begin in the coming weeks, she said.