The recent accession of the United Kingdom to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) marks a significant, albeit symbolic, milestone in the nation’s post-Brexit journey.

On December 15, 2023, the UK officially became the 12th member state of the CPTPP, making it the first European country to join this extensive trade agreement and the largest trade pact the UK has entered into since it left the European Union.

Diversified Trade Structure

The CPTPP is a comprehensive free trade agreement that encompasses diverse economies in the Asia-Pacific region, coming into effect at the end of 2018. Previously known as the TPP, its members include Australia, Canada, Japan, Singapore, and Vietnam, representing about 13% of the world's GDP.

As early as January 2018, the UK government expressed its desire to join the CPTPP to boost exports following Brexit, initiating informal discussions with CPTPP members.

Although WTO rules typically restrict multilateral trade agreements to regional arrangements, the UK's sovereignty over the Pitcairn Islands, located in Oceania, qualifies it for the geographic criteria needed for CPTPP membership.

On February 1, 2021, the UK formally applied to join the CPTPP, becoming the first non-founding member to do so

The accession protocol was signed on July 16, 2023, and this was officially ratified on December 15 of the same year.

The UK’s entry enhances the CPTPP’s total economic output to 15% of the global GDP, integrating a European economy into this cooperation framework, positioning the CPTPP as one of the largest free trade areas worldwide.

One of the key benefits of the CPTPP is expanded market access, with an agreement to eliminate or reduce 95% of import fees or tariffs while maintaining protections for sensitive domestic sectors—like Japan’s rice farming.

With this agreement, as of last week, the UK is now applying CPTPP trade rules and reducing tariffs on 99% of its exports to eight of the existing member states (Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam) where the protocol is already in effect.

This new membership opens trade doors for Britain

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In joining the CPTPP, over 99% of exports to member countries will benefit from zero-tariff trade.

Currently, CPTPP economies account for 15% of global trade and 13% of global GDP, allowing the UK to seize vital new trade opportunities, especially for exporting meats, poultry, and dairy goods to Australia and New Zealand—major regional exporters.

Joining the CPTPP also benefits high-tax sectors like financial services and spirits, where tariffs will drastically fall or be abolishedFor example, Malaysia's tax on Scotch whisky could drop from 165% to zero, paving new trade avenues for this critical export.

Beyond trade, membership implies that investors from CPTPP countries investing in projects in other member nations will receive equal treatment to indigenous firms, potentially benefiting UK enterprises.

Projections from the UK government suggest that, in the long term, this move could yield an annual increase of £2 billion for the British economy

Recent figures indicate that the total trade volume for the UK reached £1.7 trillion within a 12-month period ending in September.

A More Symbolic Significance

However, the implications of the UK's accession to the CPTPP represent largely symbolic gains in the context of post-Brexit Britain.

Several assessments indicate that the immediate benefits to the UK from joining the CPTPP are minimal, with ongoing concerns remaining unresolved.

Prior to Brexit, the UK had already established trade agreements with most of the CPTPP member nations, which persisted post-Brexit

Since then, trade agreements have been confirmed with Australia and New Zealand.

With regard to the CPTPP members, only agreements have yet to be formed with Brunei and Malaysia, which account for less than 0.5% of the UK’s total trade.

According to the UK government’s optimistic forecasts, even with modifications to trade arrangements with other countries, the expected gains from the CPTPP agreement may be negligible—approximately 0.08% of GDP over the next decade.

However, the UK Secretary of State for Business and Trade likened the CPTPP to a startup, suggesting that projections do not consider the rapid rise in global trade importance of certain member countries, such as Vietnam.

Concerns have also been raised by members of the House of Lords who are apprehensive about how the UK plans to maintain environmental and animal welfare standards.

As part of the agreement, the UK will allow Canadian farmers more access to its market; however, hormone-treated meats will remain banned