The UK government has announced the country will officially join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) by December 15th this year after its application to join the bloc was officially ratified by enough members.

Six of the group's 11 members are required to formally ratify the accession of any new participants. Peru this week became the final signatory necessary to greenlight the UK's membership, joining Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand and Vietnam, which had all previously agreed to the terms of the UK's entry.

Minister of state for trade policy Douglas Alexander welcomed the development, saying: "This is good news for UK businesses, who are now one step closer to being able to take advantage of the opportunities our membership of CPTPP will bring."

The agreement means that, once the UK officially joins in December, 99 percent of goods exported to other CPTPP members will be tariff-free. It is estimated that as a result of this, the agreement could add £2 billion to the UK's economy by 2040.

Once the UK becomes the 12th member, the CPTPP bloc will cover 600 million people across five continents.

The UK government added that as the first new member to accede to the CPTPP following its formation in 2018, the country will be "well positioned to shape its future development". This may include influencing the direction of the CPTPP rulebook and championing the group’s expansion to new economies.

"We’re extremely grateful to all the CPTPP partners that have already ratified our accession ... and look forward to more doing so over the coming months," Mr Alexander continued.

The UK's entry to the CPTPP may set the tone for other applicants to the bloc, which include China, Taiwan, Ecuador and Ukraine.