A former trade adviser has warned that Brexit cannot be reversed as Britain becomes the first country to join an Indo-Pacific trade bloc.
Brexit supporter Shanker Singham, CEO of Competere and an academic fellow at the Institute of Economic Affairs, called the trade agreement a “huge event” for the UK and a “triumph” for negotiators.
When the trade partnership was first proposed, there were “howls of derision,” according to Mr. Sanham.
Britain will join the Indo-Pacific trade bloc, becoming the 11th Pacific region country to do so.
It will join the Trans-Pacific Partnership Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement (CPTPP).
The negotiations are now “complete,” and Britain’s accession to the CPTPP is “all agreed [and] confirmed.”
He described it as a shield against Chinese market distortions that harm the global economy.
The CPTPP accounts for 13 percent of global GDP as well as 15 percent global trade, according to former BBC host Andrew Neil.
The trade bloc amounts to a $10trillion market.
Mr Singham welcomed the news, stating that the move means the UK will be unable to “rejoin the EU customs union.”
“Admission to the partnership would be a huge event for Brexit Britain and would not have been possible within the European Union,” he wrote. Following accession, the UK would be unable to rejoin the EU customs union.”
“Accession would be a huge victory for UK negotiators, particularly the Prime Minister and Secretary of State for Business and International Trade.”
“It would mark the point at which Brexit could not be reversed.”