| |
UK Pushes Pacific Trade Talks 06/22 06:14
BANGKOK (AP) -- The U.K. launched negotiations Tuesday to join a
trans-Pacific trade bloc as it looks to explore new opportunities following its
departure from the European Union and strengthen its strategic interests in
Asia.
The start of talks to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for
Trans-Pacific Partnership, made up of 11 counties with a combined half billion
people, came as Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab met with his counterpart and
other Vietnamese officials during his fifth visit to Southeast Asia in his
current job.
Britain is also looking to attain "dialogue partnership" status with the
10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or ASEAN, as it pursues a
"tilt" toward the Indo-Pacific region in response to China's growing influence
on the world stage that was recommended by a recent British government review
of defense and foreign policy.
"The U.K. is committed to strengthening our friendship across the
Indo-Pacific," Raab said ahead of the trip. "We are demonstrating this through
our commitment to join CPTPP, partner with ASEAN and invest more energy, time
and effort in our bilateral relations in the region."
The push comes as the region's countries are looking for "options and
alternatives" to China as their main source of capital and trading
opportunities, said Euan Graham, senior fellow for Asia-Pacific security with
the International Institute for Strategic Studies' office in Singapore.
For Britain to be taken seriously it needs to show that it's prepared to be
engaged for the long-term, he said.
"It's no good just saying you're engaged from the safety of London, even in
a pandemic you have to commit to face time in the region," he said.
Beyond trade, Britain earlier this year dispatched a strike group led by the
Royal Navy's flagship aircraft carrier the HMS Queen Elizabeth on a 28-week
deployment to Asia. It is also expected to announce the forward deployment of
smaller Royal Navy vessels to the Indo-Pacific, Graham said.
"That would be noticed in the region," he said. "It won't change the balance
of power, but it does demonstrate to China and others that this is not only a
U.S.-China bilateral dynamic,"
Whether the diplomatic, economic and military outreach will succeed,
however, will take time.
"I think they can maintain their ambitions over a four-year timeframe, and
that might be enough to develop the momentum that they need," Graham said,
adding that closer ties to the region are probably more important for the
Britain than vice versa.
Following Vietnam, Raab was to visit Cambodia and then end his trip to the
region in Singapore.
Britain said joining the CPTPP would open new access to fast-growing
economies across Asia-Pacific and the Americas, including Mexico, Malaysia and
Vietnam. Other countries in the pact include Australia, New Zealand and Canada,
but Britain would be the first European country if it succeeds in joining.
Britain singled out digital, services and finance as sectors that stand to
gain from a trade deal, which it said should mean tariff-free trade for 99.9%
of exports.
"Membership of the CPTTP free-trade partnership would open up unparalleled
opportunities for British businesses and consumers in the fast-growing
Indo-Pacific," Prime Minister Boris Johnson said. "It's an exciting opportunity
to build on this country's entrepreneurial spirit and free-trading history to
bring economic benefits across the whole of the U.K."
The CPTTP is a much looser arrangement than the European Union, which the
U.K. formally left last year, as it does not include any political integration.
After the conclusion of a transition period that was intended to smooth the
U.K.'s departure, the country is now able to negotiate its own trade deals.
Last week, the British government negotiated the broad outlines of a trade deal
with Australia that will see tariffs on a range of goods eliminated over coming
years.
The United States, the world's biggest economy, is not part of the CPTTP;
former President Donald Trump withdrew the country from its predecessor, the
Trans-Pacific Partnership. His successor, Joe Biden, has previously indicated
that he would like to rejoin the grouping but has yet to set out any
substantial plans since taking office in January.
China, the world's No. 2 economy, also does not belong.
The British government said CPTPP countries accounted for around 110 billion
pounds ($153 billion) worth of U.K. trade in 2019. Though substantial, the
amount is around six times less than the business the U.K. conducts with the EU.
|
|
