The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), previously proposed as the TPP11 is a multilateral trade agreement that consists of twelve members states, spans over five continents and covers nearly 600 million people.
The twelve members have combined economies representing 14.4% of global gross domestic product, at approximately US$15.8 trillion, making the CPTPP the world's fourth largest free trade area by GDP, behind the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement, the European single market, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. While originally only involving Pacific Rim countries, it has since evolved to also include outside countries.
History
Trans-Pacific Partnership
The CPTPP evolved from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) abbreviated as TPP11 or TPP-11, an agreement which was never ratified due to the withdrawal of the United States.
The TPP had been signed on 4 February 2016 but never entered into force, as the U.S. withdrew from the agreement soon after the election of President Donald Trump. All other TPP signatories agreed in May 2017 to revive the agreement, with Shinzo Abe's administration in Japan widely reported as taking the leading role in place of the U.S.
Establishment of the CPTPP
In January 2018, the CPTPP was created as a succeeding agreement, retaining two-thirds of its predecessor's provisions; 22 measures favored by the U.S. but contested by other signatories were suspended, while the threshold for enactment was lowered so as not to require U.S. accession.
The agreement to establish the CPTPP was signed on 8 March 2018 by Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam, with the ceremony held in Santiago, Chile. The agreement specifies that its provisions enter into effect 60 days after ratification by at least half the signatories (six of the eleven participating countries). On 31 October 2018, Australia was the sixth nation to ratify the agreement; it subsequently came into force for the initial six ratifying countries on 30 December 2018.
Negotiations
During the round of negotiations held concurrently with the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Vietnam in November 2017, the Canadian prime minister Justin Trudeau refused to sign the agreement in principle, stating reservations about the provisions on culture and automotives. Media outlets in Australia, New Zealand, and Japan, which strongly supported quick movement on a deal, strongly criticized what they portrayed as Canadian sabotage.
Canada insisted that cultural and language rights, specifically related to its French-speaking minority, be protected.
However, Canada's major reservation was a conflict between the percentage of a vehicle that must originate in a CPTPP member nation to enter tariff-free, which was 45% under the original TPP language and 62.5% under the NAFTA agreement. Japan, which is a major automobile part exporter, strongly supported lower requirements. In January 2018, Canada announced that it would sign the CPTPP after obtaining binding side letters on culture with every other CPTPP member country, as well as bilateral agreements with Japan, Malaysia, and Australia related to non-tariff barriers. Canada's Auto Parts Manufacturers' Association sharply criticized increasing the percentages of automobile parts that may be imported tariff-free, noting that the United States was moving in the opposite direction by demanding stricter importation standards in the NAFTA renegotiation, later USMCA.
In February 2019, Canada's Jim Carr, Minister of International Trade Diversification, delivered a keynote address at a seminar concerning CPTPP - Expanding Your Business Horizons, reaching out to businesses stating the utilisation of the agreement provides a bridge that will enable people, goods and services to be shared more easily.
Chapters
TPP modification and incorporation
The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) incorporates most of the provisions of the abandoned Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, using mutatis mutandis. Several clauses within Article 30 of the TPP were suspended for the CPTPP, including:
- Accession (30.4)
- Entry into Force (30.5)
- Withdrawal (30.6)
- Authentic Texts (30.8).
The final text of CPTPP was mostly identical to the original TPP, except for some provisions advanced by the United States under the TPP, but not supported by the other members. In the intellectual property chapter, copyright and patent terms were shortened relative to TPP, and standards for digital IP protections were eliminated. Provisions allowing use of investor–state dispute settlements for investment agreements and authorizations were also rescinded. In summary, the CPTPP amends aspects of the following TPP chapters:
- Chapter 9: Investment
- Chapter 10: Cross-Border Trade in Services
- Chapter 11: Financial Services
- Chapter 13: Telecommunications
- Chapter 15: Government Procurement
- Chapter 18: Intellectual Property
- Chapter 20: Environment
- Chapter 26: Transparency and Anti-Corruption.
CPTPP chapters
There are currently 30 chapters in the CPTPP Agreement listed below:
Amended TPP Chapters
Chapter 2: Goods
The chapter on goods requires the elimination of most tariffs between members and the final elimination of approx 99% of tariff lines.
Chapter 14: E-commerce
The e-commerce chapter of the CPTPP mandates that signatories adopt or at the very least maintain laws for consumer protection with the aim to fight fraud and deceptive commercial activities.
Chapter 17: State Owned Enterprise
The chapter on state-owned enterprises (SOEs) requires signatories to share information about SOEs with each other, with the intent of engaging with the issue of state intervention in markets. It includes the most detailed standards for intellectual property of any trade agreement, as well as protections against Intellectual property infringement against corporations operating abroad.
Membership
Legislative process
An overview of the legislative process in selected states is shown below:
Ratifications
On 28 June 2018, Mexico became the first country to finish its domestic ratification procedure of the CPTPP, with President Enrique Peña Nieto stating, "With this new generation agreement, Mexico diversifies its economic relations with the world and demonstrates its commitment to openness and free trade".
On 6 July 2018, Japan became the second country to ratify the agreement.
On 19 July 2018, Singapore became the third country to ratify the agreement and deposit its instrument of ratification.
On 17 October 2018, the Australian Federal Parliament passed relevant legislation through the Senate. The official ratification was deposited on 31 October 2018. This two-week gap made Australia the sixth signatory to deposit its ratification of the agreement, and it came into force 60 days later.
On 25 October 2018, New Zealand ratified the CPTPP, increasing the number of countries that had formally ratified the agreement to four.
Also on 25 October 2018, Canada passed and was granted royal assent on the enabling legislation. The official ratification was deposited on 29 October 2018.
On 2 November 2018, the CPTPP and related documents were submitted to the National Assembly of Vietnam for ratification. On 12 November 2018, the National Assembly passed a resolution unanimously ratifying the CPTPP. The Vietnamese government officially notified New Zealand of its ratification on 15 November 2018.
On 14 July 2021, the CPTPP was approved by the Congress of the Republic of Peru. The official ratification was deposited on 21 July 2021.
On 30 September 2022, Malaysia ratified the CPTPP and deposited its instrument of ratification.
On 17 April 2019, the CPTPP was approved by the Chamber of Deputies of Chile. The final round of approval in the Senate was scheduled for November 2019, after being approved by its Commission of Constitution. However, due to a series of massive protests against the government of Sebastián Piñera, the ratification process was paused. Only in 2022, the ratification process was resumed after a new Congress and a new President were elected. Despite the public opposition of Gabriel Boric to the treaty before his election as President, the new administration did not interfere in the voting. The CPTPP was approved in the Senate with 27 votes in favor (mainly from the right-wing opposition and some center-left politicians) and 10 against, mostly by members of the ruling coalition. The treaty was deposited on 23 December, once several side letters were negotiated with the other signatories in specific topics considered harmful by the Chilean government. On 23 February 2023, Boric ratified Chile's entry to TPP-11.
On 13 May 2023, Brunei ratified the CPTPP and deposited its instrument of ratification.
Entry into force
The agreement came into effect 60 days after ratification and deposit of accession documents by at least half the signatories (six of the eleven signatories). Australia was the sixth country to ratify the agreement, which was deposited with New Zealand on 31 October 2018, and consequently the agreement came into force between Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore on 30 December 2018.
On 1 January 2019, Australia, Canada, Mexico, New Zealand, and Singapore implemented a second round of tariff cuts. Japan's second tariff cut took place on 1 April 2019.
On 15 November 2018, Vietnam deposited the accession documents, and the agreement entered into force in Vietnam on 14 January 2019.
On 21 July 2021, Peru deposited the accession documents, and the agreement entered into force in Peru on 19 September 2021.
On 30 September 2022, Malaysia deposited the accession documents, and the agreement entered into force in Malaysia on 29 November 2022.
On 23 December 2022, Chile deposited the accession documents, and the agreement entered into force in Chile on 21 February 2023.
On 13 May 2023, Brunei deposited the accession documents, and the agreement entered into force in Brunei on 12 July 2023.
Geographic scope
The CPTPP defines the "territory" of each party in Annex 1-A of Chapter 1 (Initial Provisions and General Definitions) of the agreement. These definitions outline the geographic areas to which the CPTPP applies, encompassing land territories, islands, internal waters, territorial seas, exclusive economic zones (EEZs), continental shelves, airspace, and other maritime areas where the party exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction, consistent with international law, including the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).
A key aspect of these definitions is the explicit inclusion or exclusion of certain remote and offshore territories to ensure precise coverage for trade and economic activities. For example, Mexico's territory is defined to specifically include the remote Pacific islands of Guadalupe Island and the Revillagigedo Islands, along with any areas beyond the territorial seas where Mexico exercises sovereign rights or jurisdiction under international and domestic law. Australia's definition covers the mainland territory, airspace, territorial sea, contiguous zone and EEZ, and includes the Pacific territories of the Coral Sea Islands and Norfolk Island, as well as the Indian Ocean territories of Ashmore and Cartier Islands, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, Christmas Island and Heard Island and McDonald Islands. New Zealand's territory explicitly excludes Tokelau, a non-self-governing Polynesian territory of New Zealand which enjoys substantial self-administration, and which remains on the United Nations list of non-self-governing territories. Prior to the United Kingdom's CPTPP membership, the uninhabited Heard Island and McDonald Islands were the furthest removed CPTPP territory from the Pacific Ocean, as they are over 4,000 kilometers from the West Australian city of Perth.
CPTPP Commission
The CPTPP Commission is the decision-making body of the CPTPP, which was established when the CPTPP entered into force on 30 December 2018.
The official languages of CPTPP are English, French, and Spanish; English is used prevailing in the case of conflict or divergence. The CPTPP commission in 2025 is chaired by Australia.
1st CPTPP Commission (2019)Representatives from the eleven CPTPP signatories participated in the 1st CPTPP Commission meeting held in Tokyo on 19 January 2019, which decided: