met Motegi, who is
responsible for CPTPP, as part of a visit to Japan, the
UK’s 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’s
first independent trade policy for over 40 years as we
leave the European Union.
This is Dr Fox’s first visit to Asia following his
launch of a consultation on
potentially joining CPTPP, and his welcoming this
month’s signature of the EU-Japan Economic Partnership
Agreement (EPA). Japan
accounts for nearly half of the
CPTPP’s GDP, and is the UK’s
fifth largest trading partner with total trade worth
£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, 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’s fastest growing regions, like Asia.
That’s why I’m 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
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 £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.
