Question to the Department for International Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for International Trade, what the timescale is for the UK's entry into the CPTPP.

On 28^th September, the United Kingdom took the next step towards membership of this important and growing trading group, kicking off the first round of talks with officials from all members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The United Kingdom has made significant progress towards acceding to the agreement, with discussions on key areas such as e-commerce and procurement. We have an ambitious timeline for British accession to CPTPP and hope to conclude negotiations by the end of 2022.