The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) is a trading bloc encompassing 11 countries in the Pacific region. Members include Japan, Canada, Australia, Malaysia and Singapore.
While increased collaboration with partners and allies in the Asia-Pacific region is welcome, trade deals are not the only forum to do so and the CPTPP shares similar defects to other modern trade agreements, including the failed Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) between the EU and US.
This briefing explains why TJM is calling for the UK to halt the accession process to the CPTPP. The agreement brings minimal benefits and significant risks for priorities such as tackling the climate and biodiversity crises, ensuring gender equality and eliminating poverty. Crucially, we have no faith that the agreement will be subject to anything approaching the necessary levels of scrutiny.
We believe that the UK should rethink its approach to trade so that UK policy is fully aligned with commitments on human rights, gender equality, climate, the environment and the SDGs and overhaul its processes for public engagement and parliamentary scrutiny.