United Kingdom accession to the CPTPP

The United Kingdom has joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) at a signature ceremony during the 7th Commission Meeting in Auckland, New Zealand.

CPTPP is the world’s premier open plurilateral free trade agreement, with high standards and broad membership. CPTPP is critical to driving prosperity and setting the trade rules across the region.

The United Kingdom and CPTPP members signed the Protocol for the Accession of the UK to CPTPP at the 7th Commission Meeting hosted by New Zealand on July 16th 2023. This makes the United Kingdom the first new economy to join since the agreement was signed in 2018.

The United Kingdom is a G7 member and the world’s sixth largest economy. Its accession shows the appeal of CPTPP. The inclusion of the United Kingdom into CPTPP provides another pathway for New Zealand exporters and business people to access the UK market, providing useful additional flexibility and more options for diversification.

Given CPTPP’s importance, New Zealand has always supported its expansion through accession by those economies willing to meet the Agreement’s high standards. Accessions increase the value of the Agreement to New Zealand, advance New Zealand’s goal of strengthening rules-based trade in the Indo-Pacific, and demonstrate the ongoing importance of CPTPP as a critical piece of regional trade architecture.

The Protocol will enter into force after the UK and all the CPTPP Parties have ratified it, or after 15 months if the UK and a majority of CPTPP Parties have ratified it.

United Kingdom accession to the CPTPP

New Zealand Interest Material

Commission Decisions

Legal texts