Australia’s Trade Minister has rejected Britain's plans to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership after Brexit, stating the partnership has ‘more pressing priorities than seeking a new partner’.
Prime Minister Theresa May has informed Parliament in July her plan for Brexit had been designed with this membership in mind, yet Minister Bermingham suggests it would be easier for the UK to begin an initial bilateral agreement with Australia.
Last week, the UK government held a ‘public consultation to inform [their] future relationship with the countries that make up the [partnership]’, foreshadowing the launch to formal negotiations to apply to the group.