Kemi Badenoch suggested people should stop talking about Brexit and focus on what can be done to grow the UK economy for the future after the Government announced a major new trade deal.
The UK has now joined the Indo-Pacific trade bloc formally known as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
The move represents the UK’s biggest post-Brexit trade pact to date and Ms Badenoch said it is a “deal about the future” because “lots of other countries” want to join and Britain has “got in early”.
It was suggested to Ms Badenoch, the Business and Trade Secretary, that joining the bloc will not be as good for trade as the UK being a member of the EU.
But she hit back, telling Times Radio this morning: “We have left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow the UK economy and not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago.”
The CPTPP deal will cut tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which – with Britain’s accession – will have a total gross domestic product (GDP) of £11 trillion.
However, critics have said the impact of the deal will be limited, with official estimates suggesting it will add just £1.8 billion a year to the UK economy after 10 years.
You can follow the latest updates below.
09:48 AM
Liz Truss: CPTPP deal a ‘vital development’ in push for economic growth
09:25 AM
Rishi Sunak: Joining CPTPP will deliver ‘huge boost’ to UK economy
08:52 AM
Labour gives CPTPP deal ‘a cautious welcome’
Pat McFadden, the shadow chief secretary to the Treasury, said Labour gives the UK accession to the CPTPP a “cautious” welcome.
He also said that if Labour wins the next general election it will keep the UK in the Indo-Pacific trade bloc.
Mr McFadden told Sky News: “We give this a welcome but also a cautious welcome, because what we’ve experienced over the past few years is that when the Government has signed trade deals, they often – once you to look at the detail – they’re not quite as advantageous as the Government has first claimed.”
08:40 AM
Chancellor: Joining CPTPP presents ‘massive opportunity’ to UK businesses
Joining the CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc presents British businesses with a “massive opportunity”, the Chancellor said this morning.
Jeremy Hunt told broadcasters that by joining the bloc the UK was increasing its access to “one of the fastest growing areas in the world”.
He said: “The significance of joining the Pacific trade bloc is that this is one of the fastest growing areas in the world. Around half of the world’s middle-class consumers will be in this bloc of countries by the end of the decade.
“It is a massive opportunity for British exporters and combined with the very attractive business taxes that we introduced in the Budget… that will mean that the UK economy has very big long term growth opportunities.”
08:28 AM
Jeremy Hunt: GDP figures highlight ‘underlying resilience’ of UK economy
Jeremy Hunt said today’s GDP figures (see the post below at 08.24) highlighted the “underlying resilience” of the UK economy.
The Chancellor told broadcasters this morning: “These figures show there is underlying resilience in the UK economy which is obviously a good thing but we should also remember that families up and down the country are facing real pressure which is why we introduced a windfall tax which means that about half the bill of the average family is being paid, a total of £3,000 of support.
“And the root cause of this pressure is something that hasn’t changed today which is inflation is still more than 10 per cent.”
08:24 AM
UK economy grew by 0.1 per cent in fourth quarter of 2022
The UK economy grew by just 0.1 per cent in the fourth quarter of 2022, new data published this morning by the Office for National Statistics showed.
The 0.1 per cent growth figure for October to December was revised up from an initial estimate of no growth.
Meanwhile, UK GDP in the fourth quarter of 2022 was estimated to be 0.6 per cent below where it was pre-Covid in the fourth quarter of 2019.
08:22 AM
Kemi Badenoch: People should ‘not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago’
It was suggested to Kemi Badenoch that joining the CPTPP will still not be as good in terms of trade as the UK being a part of the European Union.
The Business and Trade Secretary suggested the nation needed to move on from Brexit as she said people should “not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago”.
She told Times Radio: “We are still in a free trade agreement with the EU. This is in addition to our free trade agreement.
“I think it would be quite ridiculous to suggest that we shouldn’t carry out any free trade deals now we have left the EU.”
She added: “We have left the EU so we need to look at what to do in order to grow the UK economy and not keep talking about a vote from seven years ago.”
08:18 AM
UK has ‘got in early’ by joining CPTPP now and ‘lots of other countries’ want to join, says Trade Secretary
Kemi Badenoch said the UK had “got in early” by joining the CPTPP Indo-Pacific trade bloc now and that it could now help to shape the bloc’s future.
The Business and Trade Secretary told Times Radio this morning: “This is not a deal about tomorrow. It is a deal about the future.”
She added: “There are lots of other countries that are in the queue to join so we have got in early and we will be able to have a say in shaping the bloc.”
08:16 AM
Kemi Badenoch hails ‘very significant’ CPTPP trade deal
Kemi Badenoch, the Business and Trade Secretary, described the UK joining the CPTPP as “very significant”.
Asked how significant the moment is, Ms Badenoch told Times Radio: “Very significant. I am unbelievably excited about it. It may not sound like that because I am talking on four hours sleep but it is one of the biggest trade deals we have ever done.
“It is certainly the biggest trade bloc we have entered since we joined the European Economic Community and what it is going to do is open up our economy to where the new global growth is coming from.”
07:47 AM
Labour: Government has ‘desperately poor’ record on signing trade deals
Labour said the Government had a “desperately poor” record on striking trade deals as it said it needed to see the detail of the CPTPP agreement.
Shadow trade secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “The Conservative Government’s track record in striking good trade deals is desperately poor.
“Other countries joining CPTPP arrangements have secured important safeguards and put in place support for their producers: it is vital that ministers set out if they plan to do the same.”
07:41 AM
How much will joining the CPTPP benefit the UK economy?
Joining the CPTPP represents the UK’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal to date.
It will cut tariffs for UK exporters to a group of nations which – with Britain’s accession – will have a total gross domestic product (GDP) of £11 trillion, accounting for 15 per cent of global GDP, according to UK officials.
However, critics have said the impact will be limited, with official estimates suggesting it will add just £1.8 billion a year to the economy after 10 years, representing less than one per cent of UK GDP.
07:38 AM
Who else is in the CPTPP?
Britain is the first new member, and first European nation, to join the CPTPP trade bloc – comprising Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam – since its formation in 2018.
It follows nearly two years of negotiations, culminating in intensive talks in Vietnam earlier this month, when representatives of all 11 existing members agreed to the UK joining.
While Britain already has trade agreements with most of the CPTPP members, apart from Malaysia, officials said it would deepen existing arrangements, with 99 per cent of UK goods exported to the bloc now eligible for zero tariffs.
07:37 AM
Rishi Sunak hails new post-Brexit trade deal as UK joins CPTPP
Rishi Sunak has hailed the UK joining a major Indo-Pacific trade bloc as he said it will put the country in a “prime position in the global economy”.
The UK has now formally joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in a move which represents its biggest post-Brexit trade deal.
The deal was formally confirmed in a telephone call late last night between Business and Trade Secretary Kemi Badenoch and counterparts from the bloc.
Mr Sunak said the deal highlighted the “real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms”.
He said: “We are at our heart an open and free-trading nation, and this deal demonstrates the real economic benefits of our post-Brexit freedoms.
“As part of CPTPP, the UK is now in a prime position in the global economy to seize opportunities for new jobs, growth and innovation.”