UK businesses can now access all 11 member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), with manufacturers among those expected to benefit from improved market access and reduced trade barriers.

The UK’s full accession to the CPTPP comes into force today (1 September), following Canada’s ratification of the agreement in July.

The trading bloc represented a combined GDP of £12.9tn in 2025 following the UK’s accession, up from £9.8tn before the UK joined. The government expects CPTPP membership to deliver around £2bn a year to the UK economy in the long term, while more than 99% of the UK’s current goods exports to CPTPP members will be eligible for zero tariffs.

The UK signed the CPTPP in 2023, with its accession entering into force in 2024 for the countries that had ratified it at that point. Canada was the final member to ratify the UK’s accession. The 11 other CPTPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

For UK manufacturers, the agreement is expected to improve access to overseas customers while making it easier to move technical specialists between member countries.

Agri-tech manufacturer EmTech Hatchery Systems is already using the agreement to support its international expansion. The company designs and manufactures poultry incubation and ventilation systems, which it exports worldwide for meat and egg production, as well as vaccine development.

Ken Baker, Managing Director at EmTech Hatchery Systems, said CPTPP’s business mobility provisions had already supported the company’s export activity, particularly in Peru and Mexico.

The CPTPP’s business mobility benefits have already benefitted EmTech’s export activity, particularly in Peru and Mexico where we have already exported our innovative technology.

We have also exported our products to Canada and are hopeful that the UK’s full accession to the CPTPP will create further opportunities in this market for growth in the future.
Ken Baker, Managing Director at EmTech Hatchery Systems

The agreement supports EmTech’s international activity by making it easier for engineers and technical specialists to travel to member countries for installations, training and after-sales support. It is also intended to streamline customs processes and improve access for services exports, potentially reducing delays and making it easier for UK manufacturers to compete in CPTPP markets.

The wider UK-Canada relationship is set to benefit from the agreement, with eligible UK business visitors to Canada now able to stay for up to six months, compared with the previous limit of 90 days in any six-month period under the bilateral Trade Continuity Agreement.

CPTPP also provides enhanced access to public procurement markets in the UK and Canada that were not covered by previous agreements, creating opportunities for UK suppliers across sectors including air transport, accounting and financial services.

Trade Minister Anas Sarwar said the agreement would create “new opportunities for British businesses across some of the world’s fastest-growing markets”. Chancellor John Healey added that full access to the trading bloc would open the door to “new customers, contracts and investment” for British businesses.

The government said the deal would also give UK consumers and businesses access to a wider range of goods, including fruit juices from Chile and Peru and chocolate from Mexico at lower import prices.

For more articles like this, visit our Leadership channel