UK customs compliance obligations when trading under the terms of the CPTPP.
On 31st March 2023, The Department of Business and Trade announced that the United Kingdom's request for accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) had been approved and an accession Protocol is in the processing of being drafted.
The CPTPP provides for almost complete liberalisation of tariffs among the participants. Tariffs are retained within certain protected industries – for example, Japan will retain tariffs on rice, and Canada will retain tariffs on dairy.
The rules of origin will be identical across the partner markets, and content from CPTPP nations is be permitted to use cumulation. For example, if the product-specific rules of origin for a particular commodity specify 70% CPTPP economic origin, then the 70% can be accumulated through any combination of the CPTPP countries.
Rules of Origin and Rules of Origin Procedures
CPTPP - Product Specific Rules of Origin: Annex-3-D.-Product-Specific-Rules-of-Origin
3-D: Product Specific Rules of Origin Appendix 1 to Annex: 3-D: Provisions related to the Product-Specific Rules of Origin for certain vehicles and parts of vehicles [PDF, 95 KB]
Annex-4-A.-Textiles-and-Apparel-Product-Specific-Rules-of-Origin
Appendix-1-to-Annex-4-A.-Short-Supply-List-of-Products
For traders the implications will be minimised or 0% tariff on imports from CPTPP nations, and in accordance, UK exports will face liberalised tariffs on entry into the partner markets.
All figures are for trade in goods and services. Source: Pink Book 2020
The implementation of the CPTPP will be staged, therefore it is advisable to clarify in advance whether any commercial transactions can be conducted in accordance with the CPTPP. The Department for Business and Trade have released the following information:
Country | Access |
Australia | All UK goods exports will be eligible for tariff-free access, after staging in some cases, the same as in the existing bilateral FTA. |
Brunei | All UK goods exports will be eligible for tariff-free access, after staging in some cases. |
Canada | Access to Canada’s CPTPP tariff schedule (beef exports will be subject to a TRQ under CPTPP), with benefits beyond the existing bilateral FTA with Canada including: Dairy, poultry & eggs: Additional opportunities to sell dairy products, including cheese, butter, cream, and milk powder, as well as poultry and eggs. The cheese quota provides an extra 16,500 tonnes of shared tariff-free access. |
Chile | Access to the same tariff preferences that Chile grants to other CPTPP members, with benefits beyond the existing bilateral FTA with Chile, including: Dairy: Staged tariff liberalisation on dairy products such as cheese, butter, and cream. |
Japan | Access to the same tariff preferences that Japan grants to other CPTPP members, with benefits beyond the existing bilateral FTA with Japan, including: Dairy and cereals: Additional opportunities to sell dairy products, including butter and milk powder, and cereal products. |
Malaysia | Access to the same tariff preferences that Malaysia grants to other CPTPP members, with benefits for the following products: Whisky: Tariffs of around 80% will be eliminated on UK exports of whisky to Malaysia within 10 years. Chocolate and sugar confectionery: UK exporters of chocolate and sugar confectionery will benefit from 0% tariffs on exports of these products to Malaysia where they currently face tariffs of 10 to 15%. Cars: UK car manufacturers will benefit from the staged removal of tariffs of 30% and improved rules of origin make it easier for UK exports of cars to Malaysia to meet the tariff preferences. |
Mexico | Access to the same tariff preferences that Mexico grants to other CPTPP members, with benefits beyond the existing bilateral FTA with Mexico, including: Dairy: Additional opportunities to sell dairy products, including cheese, butter, cream, and milk powder. The cheese quota provides an extra 6,500 tonnes of shared tariff-free access. Chocolate and sugar confectionery: UK exporters of chocolate and sugar confectionery will benefit from 0% tariffs on exports of these products to Mexico. Beef: Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariffs of up to 25% will be eliminated on UK exports of beef to Mexico after staging. Pork: MFN tariffs of up to 20% will be eliminated on UK exports of pork to Mexico immediately upon the UK’s accession. Poultry: MFN tariffs of up to 75% will be eliminated on UK exports of poultry to Mexico after staging. |
New Zealand | All UK goods exports will be eligible for tariff-free access, after staging in some cases, the same as in the existing bilateral FTA. |
Peru | Access to the same tariff preferences that Peru grants to other CPTPP members, with benefits beyond the existing bilateral FTA with Peru, including: Beef and poultry: Staged tariff liberalisation on beef and poultry meat. |
Singapore | All UK goods exports will be eligible for tariff-free access, the same as in the existing bilateral FTA. |
Vietnam | Access to the same tariff preferences that Vietnam grants to CPTPP members, with benefits beyond the existing bilateral FTA with Vietnam, including: Chocolate and pork: Tariffs will be eliminated sooner on some UK exports with Vietnam. |
The table below sets out how the UK has agreed proportionate market access for sensitive agricultural goods and from CPTPP Parties.
Product | Access |
Beef | Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, and Peru: Parties will share a single duty-free TRQ whose volume will increase incrementally over 10 years, capped at a permanent quota of 13,000 tonnes from year 10. Singapore: Duties will remain at the base rate through year 2 and will be eliminated from year 3, consistent with the bilateral FTA. Japan and Vietnam: Duties will be eliminated at entry into force, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Australia and New Zealand: Beef will remain subject to the staging agreed under these members’ bilateral FTAs with the UK. |
Pork | Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, and Peru: Parties will share a single duty-free TRQ whose volume will increase incrementally over 10 years, capped at a permanent quota of 55,000 tonnes from year 10. Singapore and Vietnam: Parties will share the same TRQ as above, before duties are eliminated from years 3 and 5 respectively, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Japan and New Zealand: Duties will be eliminated at entry into force, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Australia: Pork will remain subject to Most Favoured Nation (MFN) tariff rates, as agreed under our bilateral FTA. |
Chicken | Brunei, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Mexico, and Peru: Parties will share a single duty-free TRQ whose volume will increase incrementally over 10 years, capped at a permanent quota of 10,000 tonnes from year 10. Singapore and Vietnam: Parties will share the same TRQ as above, before duties are eliminated from years 3 and 5 respectively, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Japan and New Zealand: Duties will be eliminated at entry into force, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Australia: Chicken will remain subject to MFN rates, as agreed under our bilateral FTA. |
Sheepmeat | Australia and New Zealand: Sheepmeat will remain subject to the staging agreed under these members’ bilateral FTAs with the UK. All other CPTPP Parties: Duties will be eliminated at entry into force. |
Long grain milled rice | Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, and Peru: Parties will share a single duty-free TRQ whose volume will increase incrementally over 10 years, capped at a permanent quota of 10,000 tonnes from year 10. Vietnam: Vietnam will receive access to a separate duty-free TRQ whose volume will increase incrementally over 8 years, capped at a permanent quota of 17,500 tonnes from year 8. Singapore: Duties will remain at the base rate through year 2 and will be eliminated from year 3, consistent with the bilateral FTA. Canada and New Zealand: Duties will be eliminated at entry into force, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Australia, Japan, and Mexico: Long grain milled rice will remain subject to MFN rates. |
Sugar | Brunei, Chile, Malaysia, Peru, and Vietnam: Parties will share a single duty-free TRQ whose volume will increase incrementally over 10 years, capped at a permanent quota of 25,000 tonnes from year 10. Canada and Singapore: Parties will share the same TRQ as above, before duties are eliminated from years 2 and 3 respectively, consistent with the bilateral FTAs. Mexico: Sugar will remain subject to MFN rates. Australia and New Zealand: Duties will remain at the base rate through years 14 and 7 respectively and will be eliminated from years 15 and 8, respectively. Japan: Duties will be eliminated at entry into force, consistent with the bilateral FTA. |
Eggs | Australia: Eggs will remain subject to MFN rates. All other CPTPP Parties: Duties will be eliminated linearly from base rates over 10 years. Eggs will be duty-free effective from year 10. |
The accession will also represent hegemonic benefits for the United Kingdom in the Indo-Pacific region, as the UK will be able to influence the consensus decision addressing the potential accession of China and Taiwan, and other applicants Costa Rica, Uruguay or Ecuador to the multi-lateral agreement, as per Chief Negotiator Graham Zebedee's comments in The UK concludes CPTPP negotiations:
"Decisions are made by consensus, so there’s no chance of the UK being forced or pressured to agree to anyone else coming in, whether that’s Costa Rica, Taiwan, Uruguay, China or Ecuador (the five current applicants)."
The United Kingdom formally requested accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) on 1 February 2021, this request was approved on 2 June 2021 by the CPTPP Commission.
Tariff schedules published by participating countries outline the stages of implementation of tariffs against each commodity, whether the tariffs have been reduced or are 0% and identify in which year any changes will be implemented.
For further information on how the United Kingdom's accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) may impact commercial and corporate supply chain and trading activities, how to access the benefits of the forthcoming trade deal and produce compliant documentation to support import or export activities, and for feasibility modelling and reporting, please contact Alinea Customs' consultancy team.
Email: customs@alineacustom.com
Telephone: +44 (0) 207 101 42 42.