Japan will "spare no effort to support the UK" in joining the CPTPP
The International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox is in Japan where he met with Japanese Cabinet Minister Toshimitsu Motegi.
Japanese Cabinet Minister Toshimitsu Motegi has welcomed the UK鈥檚 recent announcement that it is looking to seek potential accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), saying Japan would 鈥渟pare no efforts to support the UK鈥� in a meeting with Dr Liam Fox, international trade secretary, this morning.
Dr Liam Fox met Motegi, who is responsible for CPTPP, as part of a visit to Japan, the UK鈥檚 closest partner in Asia.
The UK and Japan are like-minded advocates for global free trade, and building on our existing relationship with Japan is a key element of delivering the UK鈥檚 first independent trade policy for over 40 years as we leave the European Union.
This is Dr Fox鈥檚 first visit to Asia following his launch of a , and his welcoming this month鈥檚 signature of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Japan accounts for nearly half of the CPTPP鈥檚 GDP, and is the UK鈥檚 fifth largest trading partner with total trade worth 拢28 billion, up by nearly 15% in 2017.
Dr Fox is also beating the drum for British businesses based in Japan, meeting a range of business leaders and the British Chambers of Commerce Japan. Further, he is highlighting the value of Japanese investment in the UK, in light of the huge and job-creating investments made in the last year by the likes of Hitachi, Toyota and Mitsubishi Corp.
International Trade Secretary, Dr Liam Fox said:
As we set our own trade policy for the first time in over 40 years, the government is determined to break new ground by putting the UK at the heart of the world鈥檚 fastest growing regions, like Asia.
That鈥檚 why I鈥檓 visiting Japan, our fifth largest trading partner, and meeting Prime Minister Abe and colleagues, British businesses and Japanese investors to take our trading relationship to the next level and deliver a new framework for free and open UK-Japan trade. These talks are vital in putting the country at the heart of the Asia-Pacific, a region that will be the engine of global growth in the twenty-first century.
Dr Fox welcomed the recent EU-Japan EPA with Theresa May and Prime Minister Abe agreeing to work quickly to establish a new partnership between Japan and the UK based on the final terms of the agreement. Ensuring certainty to businesses in both countries is something they have made clear is a top priority.
The 11 members of CPTPP accounted for 拢82 billion of UK trade in 2016, more than the Netherlands, France or China. The economies of existing members are diverse, spanning a region which is a driving force of global economic growth.