CPTPP: is UK membership delivering for business?

When the UK joined the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in December 2024, the government presented membership as a key component of its post-Brexit trade strategy. The agreement placed the UK inside a trade bloc spanning the Pacific rim, gave businesses access to a common set of rules across some of the world’s fastest-growing markets and provided the UK with a role in shaping the bloc’s future development.

Almost two years on, we consider how businesses are using the agreement, where it has improved on existing trading terms and what further role the UK can play as CPTPP develops.

Current UK trade with CPTPP

The UK’s accession to CPTPP took effect in stages. Initially the agreement entered into force between the UK and Brunei, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. Mexico’s ratification of the UK’s membership took effect from 22 June 2026^[1] and the agreement entered into force between Canada and the UK on 1 September 2026,^[2] completing the UK’s accession with all 11 existing members. 

With the UK’s membership, the economies of the CPTPP trade area now total £13 trillion and the UK government estimates membership will add around £2 billion a year to UK GDP in the long run. By comparison, the UK’s free trade agreement (FTA) with India is expected to add £4.8 billion to the UK economy in the long run.^[3]

Total trade between the UK and CPTPP members reached £152 billion in 2025, equivalent to approximately 8% of the UK’s total trade. Trade flows are heavily concentrated with Australia, Canada, Japan and Singapore, together accounting for around 80% of the UK’s trade with CPTPP members.

By contrast, Malaysia and Brunei are the two CPTPP member states with which the UK had no previous FTA relationship. Combined, they currently account for a little over 0.3% of the UK’s total trade. Although CPTPP creates scope for UK trade with Malaysia to grow from a relatively low base, it is too early to assess its impact, and any significant change in trade patterns is likely to emerge only over the longer term.

What has changed for business?

The UK already had FTAs in place with 9 of the 11 existing members, limiting the scope for comprehensive trade liberalisation (although the provisions of CPTPP go further than bilateral FTAs in some areas).

Where the UK already had an FTA in place, CPTPP has in some cases provided improved market access or accelerated tariff reductions for specific goods. For instance, tariffs on UK exports of chocolate and confectionery to Mexico were eliminated under CPTPP and tariffs on UK medicine exports to Vietnam are eliminated sooner than under the existing bilateral agreement.^[4]

Rules of origin under CPTPP have provided a clear benefit to UK businesses in accessing preferential tariff treatment. Under a conventional bilateral FTA, preferential treatment generally depends on meeting rules that determine whether a product is considered to originate in one of the two parties. CPTPP's cumulation provisions allow originating materials from other CPTPP members to be taken into account when establishing whether a product qualifies for preferential treatment.

A UK manufacturer can therefore potentially use originating inputs from another CPTPP member and still qualify for preferential treatment when exporting to a further CPTPP market, subject to the relevant product specific rules. This could help businesses develop supply chains involving several member countries without losing preferential tariff treatment. However, distance, transport costs and the complexity of demonstrating origin mean the value of this provision may be limited initially.

Although CPTPP offers accelerated tariff elimination in some areas and preferential access to two additional markets, these gains are relatively modest in the context of the UK’s total trade. However, tariff liberalisation was not the sole driver of the UK’s decision to join the bloc. Strengthening economic security, a more stable environment for trade in services, the creation of more reliable data flows and higher standards for digital trade were also among the top benefits set out by the government when the UK applied for membership.^[5]

CPTPP’s digital trade provisions provide a notable example of where the agreement goes beyond several of the UK’s existing bilateral FTAs. CPTPP includes commitments on cross-border data flows between members, prevents data localisation requirements, prohibits customs duties on electronic transmissions, provides protections for software source codes and supports the use of e-signatures. This has already provided a platform for deeper cooperation, with the UK and Malaysia launching negotiations in June 2026 on a separate bilateral digital trade agreement, aiming to build on CPTPP rules.^[6]

Are businesses using CPTPP?

The available trade figures provide mixed early evidence. For instance, UK-Malaysia trade increased from £6.0 billion in 2024 to £6.4 billion in 2025 (with UK exports falling slightly from £3.6 billion to £3.5 billion).^[7] Encouragingly, UK-Vietnam trade increased from £8.3 billion to £10.5 billion over the same period (with UK exports rising from £1.4 billion to £1.8 billion).^[8] These movements occurred alongside the effects of exchange-rate changes, domestic growth, commodity prices and existing bilateral trade arrangements, making it difficult to isolate a CPTPP effect.

While optionality for traders to use a wider range of trading terms (either under CPTPP or a bilateral FTA) will have provided greater flexibility to some businesses, aggregate trade data provides limited evidence about how extensively those opportunities are being used. Preference utilisation data measuring the extent to which tariff preferences provided by trade agreements are used is collected but published with a lag. The latest available data covers 2024 and therefore does not capture the impact of the UK’s accession to CPTPP.^[9]

Strategic implications of CPTPP membership

While the immediate economic gains from CPTPP membership appear to be modest, the CPTPP trade area is growing, and accession gives the UK a direct role in shaping the bloc’s future. Through its seat on the CPTPP Commission, the UK can influence changes to the agreement and decisions on which countries are able to join.

The UK also participated in the agreement’s first General Review, completed in November 2025. The General Review recommended negotiations covering customs procedures, services, financial services, artificial intelligence, digital identities, e-payments, data flows and supply-chain resilience. It also proposed new cooperation on economic coercion and market-distorting practices, all highly significant issues in 2026 as rules-based trade has been distorted by geopolitical pressures. 

To this end, CPTPP could support the UK’s broader economic security aims by making it easier for businesses to diversify their supply chains. This is particularly relevant in the case of critical minerals used by the energy, defence and advanced manufacturing sectors but which are often sourced from, and processed by, a small number of countries.

The UK government’s Critical Minerals Strategy identified supply diversification as a priority and named Australia, Canada and Japan – all CPTPP members – as key partners for greater cooperation. CPTPP’s common rules and cumulation provisions could help businesses source inputs across these markets while retaining preferential tariff treatment.

As CPTPP attracts prospective members across Asia, the Middle East and Latin America, expansion could give UK businesses access to a wider network of markets under common trading rules. Applications have been submitted by Costa Rica, Uruguay, Indonesia, the Philippines, the UAE, China, Taiwan, Ecuador, Ukraine and Argentina, while South Korea, Thailand, Colombia and Cambodia have expressed an interest in joining.

Costa Rica has made the most progress, with accession granted in May 2026, however ratification has not yet been completed. Negotiations are underway with Uruguay, while preparatory discussions with Indonesia, the Philippines and the UAE have been announced.

Each additional member increases the potential value of the common rules and regional cumulation provisions. Illustrative DBT modelling estimates that a wider expansion including Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay, Republic of Korea, Colombia, Philippines, and Thailand could bring the agreement’s long-run annual benefit to UK GDP to £4.3 billion, in 2021 prices.^[10] Alongside enlargement, the launch of CPTPP dialogues with the EU and ASEAN gives the UK an opportunity to act as a link between Europe and the Indo-Pacific.

At a time when global trade governance is under strain, CPTPP also provides a framework for like-minded trading partners to maintain open markets and operate under shared, enforceable rules, supporting greater predictability for businesses. The strategic benefit will depend on sustained UK participation in the bloc’s committees and negotiations, particularly around digital trade, economic security and the admission of new members.

What can businesses do now?

Businesses trading with CPTPP markets should review where the agreement may offer advantages over the UK’s existing bilateral FTAs, including lower tariffs, more flexible rules of origin and stronger provisions for services and business mobility. Businesses should also monitor implementation of the agreement with Canada and Mexico, forthcoming negotiations arising from the General Review and the accession of new members.

With the commercial value of CPTPP likely to increase over time, early engagement with the agreement’s rules and emerging opportunities could help businesses identify where it can support their longer-term trade and supply-chain strategies. To understand more about how CPTPP could affect your business, Deloitte’s trade policy specialists are on hand to help.

^[1] Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP): UK Entry into Force for Mexico & Costa Rica Substantive Conclusion of Negotiations

^[2] UK secures full access to £13 trillion CPTPP trading bloc, Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade

^[3] UK-India Free Trade Deal: A Deal for Growth, DBT

^[4] Accession of the UK to the CPTPP: sector explainers

^[5] CPTPP: 10 benefits for the UK, Department for Business and Trade, July 2023

^[6] UK and Malaysia launch negotiations on Digital Trade Agreement - GOV.UK

^[7] Exporting guide from the UK to Malaysia | business.gov.uk - business.gov.uk

^[8] Exporting from the UK to Vietnam | business.gov.uk - business.gov.uk

^[9] Preference utilisation of UK goods in 2024, Department for Business and Trade

^[10] Impact assessment of the accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership