Kemi Badenoch puts finishing touches to post-Brexit deal to sign UK up to Indo-Pacific trade bloc 

Kemi Badenoch was today putting the finishing touches to a huge post-Brexit trade deal with a market of over 500 million people.

The Business and Trade Secretary was in New Zealand to sign the UK up to membership of a massive Indo-Pacific trade bloc now worth £12 trillion in GDP.

On a visit to Auckland, Mrs Badenoch was putting pen to paper on accession to the so-called CCTPP bloc made up of Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Her officials underlined the relevance of the deal despite the distance from the UK by pointing out that one in every 100 workers here was employed by a business headquartered in a CPTPP member nation in 2019 – equivalent to over 400,000 jobs across the country.

Mrs Badenoch said: ‘I’m delighted to be here in New Zealand to sign a deal that will be a big boost for British businesses and deliver billions of pounds in additional trade, as well as open up huge opportunities and unparalleled access to a market of over 500 million people.

‘We are using our status as an independent trading nation to join an exciting, growing, forward-looking trade bloc, which will help grow the UK economy and build on the hundreds of thousands of jobs CPTPP-owned businesses already support up and down the country.’

The Government will now seek to ratify the agreement, which will include scrutiny by Parliament, while other CPTPP countries complete their own legislative processes to confirm the UK’s accession.