The UK has ratified an agreement to join a global trade bloc, a move the government claims could boost construction output by £119m a year.
The UK will be the twelfth member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which includes Japan, Australia and Canada.
The countries represent around 500 million consumers collectively.
The move may result in up to a £119m annual boost in construction output in the long run, according to the Department for Business Trade (DBT).
The agreement will eliminate tariffs on UK exports to Malaysia of all building materials and construction machinery, including diggers, bulldozers and forklifts.
Tariffs will be removed sooner on UK exports of construction materials, including bricks and tiles, to Vietnam.
UK companies will also be able to access government procurement markets in Malaysia and Brunei.
The deal will lead to a 3 per cent increase in construction services exports, the DBT estimates.
Consultancy Mott MacDonald, which is working on multi-billion dollar schemes in Australia and Singapore, was part of the technical board advising British negotiators.
Mott MacDonald executive board director Ian Galbraith said: “The partnership’s ambitious services and procurement chapters pave the way for greater recognition of professional competence in engineering and architecture and establish open, fair and transparent competition rules in government procurement.”
Business secretary Kemi Badenoch signed the deal to join the CPTPP last July.
The Trade (CPTPP) Act received royal assent in March, and is expected to come into force later this year.
