CPTPP won't make up for U.K.'s losses from Brexit: ex-Economist editor

Asia-Pacific trade pact's benefits are more political, Bill Emmott says

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A sign points to the Brexit zone at the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium. Bill Emmott called on the U.K. to improve trade relations with the European Union. © Reuters

TOMOHIRO EBUCHI, Nikkei staff writer

LONDON -- The U.K.'s anticipated accession to an encompassing trans-Pacific economic agreement in July will provide an "imperceptibly small" boost economically and will not compensate for its exit from the European Union, said Bill Emmott, former editor-in-chief of The Economist, in a recent interview with Nikkei.

The move has greater implications politically, Emmott said. As the first non-founding member to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, the U.K. set a "strong precedent" by accepting the pact's content as is, possibly making it more difficult for China to gain membership, he said.

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