He noted that China and Taiwan – which have ongoing political tensions – have both applied to join the CPTPP.
“How do you deal with that? So I think it does give the UK a possibility of having influence, and that’s one of the reasons that we welcome the agreement,” he said.
The House of Lords, the second chamber of the UK parliament, plays the role of examining bills, questioning government action and investigating public policy.
According to the UK government’s projections, the estimated increase in its GDP from joining the CPTPP is 0.08 per cent over 10 years. This is partly because the UK’s main trade partners are the United States and European Union.
The UK is also waiting to see whether Donald Trump, incoming president of the US will implement trade barriers like he has promised, said Mr Mehta.
Trump late last month pledged big tariffs on the country’s three largest trading partners – Canada, Mexico and China.
“Our government has been clear in its messaging that we think potential trade tariffs imposed on any country will have an impact not just on the US economy, but on the global economy, and that includes the UK,” said Mr Mehta.
“We’ll be speaking to our US counterparts and urging for free and open trade as the way to increase wealth in all countries … That’s a big reason for why we’ve joined CPTPP.”
