The UK joins CPTPP

On Friday 31st March 2023, the Government announced that an outline agreement had been reached for the UK to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

Our analysis shows that we do not expect the CPTPP deal to cause dramatic changes to trade, particularly in the short-term, with potential for modest increases in UK exports of beef, dairy and pork in the medium to long-term. There are permanent inward TRQs for pork and beef but our analysis shows that currently trade between the UK and CPTPP for these products is very low and the volumes are unlikely to be utilised unless there are dramatic changes to trading patterns.

In this article we provide an initial assessment of the implications for agriculture. AHDB is working on a comprehensive impact assessment, intended for publication in April 2023.