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The CPTPP, which was formed in 2018, currently covers 11 countries: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Members account for 13pc of per cent of world economic output and 15pc of global trade.
William Bain, head of trade policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said joining the bloc could bring particular opportunities for digital trade, e-commerce and electronic services.
He said that 90pc of growth in the global middle class will be in the Indo-Pacific over the next seven years, giving Britain a significant headstart on European rivals seeking to tap a new mass affluent customer base.
Mr Bain said: “As prosperity increases in that region, there will obviously be more of a market for goods and services which UK traders will be able to sell and for stronger bilateral investment.”
The CPTPP trading bloc is likely to expand further, particularly as Britain will be setting a precedent for members to join, with the US the most likely candidate to be next according to Mr Lyons.
America was previously a member of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an earlier iteration of the agreement, but withdrew under Donald Trump in 2017.
Britain is making a clear pivot away from Europe towards the Indo-Pacific region, Ms Rickard said. The deal will follow post-Brexit trade agreements with Australia, New Zealand and Singapore, as well as the trilateral AUKUS security pact.
The UK is also succeeding where China – a far bigger economy which applied to join the CPTPP in 2021 – is not.
The move will also be key for British efforts to diversify supply chains and export markets, which have become overly concentrated in China, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Studies.
Paul Baker, chief executive of International Economics, a consultancy, said: “CPTPP is a counterweight to China’s efforts in this area.”
Martin Beck, chief economic adviser to the EY Item Club, said: “This is going to help reorientate our trade towards other parts of the world which are faster growing, both in terms of population growth and economic growth. It is a positive sign in terms of shifting the focus of the UK trade away from Europe.”
The UK has existing trade agreements with the majority of the members of the CPTPP, but the deal will open up new relations with Malaysia and Brunei, as well as future opportunities as the bloc expands.
Trade with members of the CPTPP currently accounts for 8pc of British exports but is expected to grow rapidly after a deal.
The Prime Minister’s spokesman said an update would be provided at the earliest possible opportunity, while a spokesman for the Department for Business and Trade hailed “great progress” towards the UK’s accession.
The PM’s spokesman said: “Negotiations have been proceeding well on CPTPP, and ministers are due to have discussions with their counterparts later this week.”
A Trade Department source stressed that negotiations were still ongoing.
They said: “Any agreement for the UK to join CPTPP will be handled by CPTPP and specifically the Japanese. Until the CPTPP confirm something, nothing is confirmed.”
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