
LONDON -- The U.K. will apply to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership on Monday, in a major push to expand and deepen the country's trade links with the Asia-Pacific region after leaving the European Union.
"Joining CPTPP will create enormous opportunities for U.K. businesses that simply weren't there as part of the EU and deepen our ties with some of the fastest-growing markets in the world," U.K. International Trade Secretary Liz Truss said. "It will mean lower tariffs for car manufacturers and whisky producers, and better access for our brilliant services providers, delivering quality jobs and greater prosperity for people here at home," she said.