International Trade Secretary Liz Truss attends a meeting in Manchester. (Photo: AFP/VNA)

"We will shortly submit our formal request to join this free trade area," Truss told a City & Financial Global conference. She described the bloc as "one of the world's most dynamic trading areas".

CPTPP has 11 members: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. The deal was signed in December, 2018, after the US abandoned the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in 2017.