Mixed reception to UK unveiling trans-Pacific trade pact membership

The UK’s announcement that it will soon join 11 other countries in a major Asia-Pacific trade partnership — the country’s biggest post-Brexit trade deal to date — earned a mixed reception on Friday. Britain will be the first new member since the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) was created in 2018, and the first European country in the bloc. The trade grouping will include more than 500 million people and account for 15 percent of global gross domestic product once the UK becomes its 12th member, according to Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s office. It said Britain’s accession…