The UK has joined a trade pact with several countries in Asia and the Pacific, including Japan and Australia. The name of this pact - CPTPP - is a mouthful, but it's a club of more than 500 million people the UK will have greater access to.

The UK has become the first European nation to join the CPTPP trade bloc after its membership formally took effect. Britain’s participation in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) came into force on Sunday,

The UK has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, according to a release on Sunday from the country’s Department for Business and Trade.

LONDON -- The United Kingdom officially joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Sunday, becoming the first European nation to join the Asia-Pacific trade bloc.

Britain announced last year it would join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in its biggest trade deal since Brexit. The accession means Britain will be able to apply CPTPP trade rules and lower tariffs with eight of the 11 existing members from Sunday - Brunei,

Britain will become a member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on Sunday.