Canada agrees to ratify Britain’s accession to major trans-Pacific trade pact

Canada has agreed to ratify Britain’s accession to a major trans-Pacific trade pact as Sir Keir Starmer and Mark Carney revived talks on a stalled bilateral deal.

Ottawa will seek to introduce legislation to its parliament this autumn to formally approve Britain’s entry to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The UK joined the bloc in 2024, but Canada is yet to ratify its accession – meaning Britain still faces pre-CPTPP trade barriers in exporting to the country.

Following a bilateral meeting between the Prime Minister and his Canadian counterpart Mark Carney on Sunday, Downing Street said: “Prime Minister Carney confirmed that Canada would ratify the UK’s accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), seeking to introduce legislation to their parliament in the autumn.

“This will bring huge benefits to UK businesses by lowering tariffs when buying from and selling to Canada.

“They also agreed to set up a joint taskforce to turbocharge progress on other areas of mutual benefit, including technology and artificial intelligence – in support of shared growth and our national security.

“The taskforce will also look to make progress on the wider UK-Canada Free Trade Agreement.”