Britain's Pacific trade ambitions won't compensate for Brexit

The United Kingdom has begun talks on joining a Pacific trade partnership that it sees as one of its biggest opportunities to forge economic alliances beyond Europe after Brexit.

The UK Department for International Trade says membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership would produce an economic windfall by lowering tariffs on "key British exports" such as cars and whisky, while helping farmers to sell more meat to "fast growing" markets such as Mexico. It could also boost trade in services and make it easier for tech firms to expand abroad. "Joining CPTPP would hitch Britain to some of the world's biggest current and future economies, populated by half a billion people and with a joint GDP of £9 trillion ($12.5 trillion) in 2019," the trade department said in a statement. "It is a glittering post-Brexit prize that I want us to seize," added Trade Secretary Liz Truss.