A total of 10 economies want to join CPTPP, six of them have already formally applied for membership.

The remaining four have expressed their interest in joining this trade bloc.

The Indo-Pacific is currently the world’s leading region in terms of economic growth and offers companies great opportunities for trade and expansion. 

What is CPTPP? A free trade agreement between Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. 

Join CPTPP

On July 16, 2023, the United Kingdom signed its protocol of accession to CPTPP, becoming the twelfth signatory to the agreement. The accession protocol is expected to enter into force in the second half of 2024, once the United Kingdom and the other signatories have completed the ratification process in accordance with the accession protocol.

The following economies have formally applied to join CPTPP:

• China.
• Costa Rica.
• Ecuador.
• Taiwan.
• Ukraine.
• Uruguay.

So far, the formal accession process has not yet begun for these jurisdictions. 

These are the four countries that have expressed their interest in joining CPTPP:

• Colombia.
• Philippines. 
• South Korea.
• Thailand.

None of these four countries has submitted an application to join the agreement.

History

Among other things, CPTPP contains provisions on trade facilitation; e-commerce; government procurement; competition policy; state-owned enterprises and designated monopolies; intellectual property rights; labor issues; environmental issues; competitiveness and business facilitation; development; SMEs; regulatory coherence; and transparency and anti-corruption.

On March 8, 2018, Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam signed CPTPP. 

The agreement entered into force on December 30, 2018 for Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand and Singapore, followed by Vietnam on January 14, 2019, Peru on September 19, 2021, Malaysia on November 29, 2022, Chile on February 21, 2023 and Brunei Darussalam on July 12, 2023.

This agreement will enter into force for the United Kingdom once all current members of the bloc and the United Kingdom complete their respective internal ratification processes.