On Eve of EU exit, Britain eyes out of trade with Asia

Britain says it hopes one day to become a member of the Trans-Peace Partnership, or TPP, a free trade agreement currently being negotiated by 11 Pacific and South China Sea countries. The reason is that the British government hopes trade with emerging economies will compensate for the losses that could occur after leaving the European Union, predicted for 2019. Henry Ridgwell reports analysts continue to be sceptical that Britain could join a trade block so far from its shores.

What's Britain's vision after Brex? In its words, free from the shackles of the European Union and with the ability to trade globally with rapidly growing economies.

On a recent trip to China, the British Minister of Trade hinted that his country could enter one day into the Trans-Peaceful Partenty Agreement.

We have said that we want to be an open country with a global perspective, and that's why it would be naive to exclude any particular possibility for the future”.

London is seven thousand miles from every Pacific coast. Does this mean that geography is no longer important in the 21st century trade?

The argument is being used that especially as services trade expands and as a result of technology, such a concept will be worth less and less in the future. And it's understandable. Unfortunately so far, however, the data does not support this argument. For whatever reason, geography at the moment seems to have the same significance that it had”, says Jonathan Gates of London's “Chings” College.

Leaving the European Union's Common Market and Customs, Britain leaves behind a free trade agreement that accounts for half of its global trade. Portes says it will take decades for other trade deals to reach that level.

Our subx0-companies are in many cases highly integrated with the European Union, which means there will be significant fluctuations as a result of the possible implications of Brex”.

Former US President Barack Obama was one of the driving forces for Trans-Peace Partnerships, but his successor Donald Trump drew America out of the deal, claiming it would have negative consequences for it.

Negotiations among the remaining 11 countries are progressing slowly.

“TPP has its own internal problems as a result of American attraction. And we're going to have to work on solving them”.

Australia, one of the negotiating parties, welcomes Britain's interest.

British Prime Minister Theresa May is expected to visit Asia after several months in an effort to strengthen pre- Brex relations. /Vosa/