No special trade terms for UK from Pacific bloc

Britain could only join a Pacific trade bloc singled out by Theresa May as an opportunity for after Brexit if it signed up to all its rules, the British prime minister has been told.

Senior officials from within the 11-nation alliance, which includes New Zealand, Canada and Japan, have dashed Whitehall hopes of special dispensations in certain areas, saying the UK would be welcomed provided it was prepared to accept the exact same terms.

Prime Minister Theresa May dismissed Brexiteer claims this summer that her plan to follow the European Union’s regulations on goods would prevent Britain from signing trade deals, insisting that it would ‘‘enable us to accede’’ to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Liam Fox’s trade department has spent months examining the bloc, which formed in January. It includes half a billion people in nations such as Mexico and Canada.

Janice Charette, Canada’s high commissioner to the UK, insisted that her country would be ‘‘quite keen to see the accession of other economies to this agreement, so long as they’re prepared to ... meet the agreement’s high standards in terms of the ambitious market access commitments and the rules that are around that’’.

In an interview with The Times, Charette noted that the existing members, which also include Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, have yet to agree how new countries will be able to join.

‘‘As long as the UK is prepared to accept the same terms as the other signatories ... [it is] exactly the kind of country that we would welcome into the agreement,’’ she added.

Asked directly in July whether Britain will require special treatment in order to sign up to CPTPP, May told MPs that we should not ‘‘tear up all our regulatory standards’’.

Leaders across the bloc have welcomed Britain’s interest, including Shinzo Abe, the Japanese prime minister, who said he did so ‘‘with open arms’’.

Charette was speaking after Britain, as an EU member until next March, formally ratified Canada’s trade deal with the bloc.

The deal has reduced tariffs for companies in Canada and Britain, she said, highlighting importers of car parts or aluminium.

With Brexiteers pointing to the deal as a possible foundation for Britain as it considers its future relationship with Brussels, Charette said her country hoped that the two sides made a ‘‘constructive and stable partnership’’. – The Times

‘‘As long as the UK is prepared to accept the same terms as the other signatories ... [it is] exactly the kind of country that we would welcome into the agreement.’’ Janice Charette, Canada’s high commissioner to the UK