Britain does not need to accept regulatory alignment with the EU as a matter of historical destiny
Today, Kemi Badenoch, the Trade and Business Secretary, will officially sign the treaty confirming the UK’s accession to the CPTPP, the mammoth Pacific trade pact. It is one of the Government’s few unquestioned successes, membership of a vast trading system that both unlocks meaningful new opportunities for British businesses and consumers, and signals the seriousness of the UK’s interest in a region that is likely to be central to the challenges of the 21st century.
Some have argued that signing up to the agreement will significantly reduce the chance that Britain will ever rejoin the EU single market or customs union. Certainly, it suggests that the future of international trade will not necessarily be dominated by monolithic blocs that demand the surrender of national sovereignty and seek to dictate the terms of trade. Britain does not need to accept regulatory alignment with the EU as a matter of historical destiny.
However, it is striking how little else this Government has done – along with its predecessors – to cement the Brexit vote. There have been some promising reforms in areas such as financial services, but officials and ministers have sometimes seemed reluctant or unable to accept that leaving the EU must mean rethinking all policy, from the perspective of whether it is conducive to British interests. Time is running out to prove the Rejoiners wrong.