Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) – Joint Ministerial Statement

18 May 2024, Arequipa, Peru

Ministers and representatives of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Viet Nam, as Members of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), met in Arequipa, Peru, on 18 May   2024 (PET). On this occasion, we welcomed the progress made to date on the Chair’s three priorities: progressive stewardship (implementation and General Review), comprehensive utilization, and accessions.

As CPTPP Members continue to navigate an evolving global economic landscape, we reiterated the importance of the General Review in reinforcing the Agreement's effectiveness and relevance. To further promote free, open, and predictable trade, the General Review will review the operation of the Agreement with a view to updating and enhancing the CPTPP, including through addressing emerging issues, to ensure the CPTPP continues to remain the ‘gold standard’ for trade agreements. To this end, we directed Senior Officials to advance the General Review effectively and efficiently, including by identifying areas where updates and revisions could be advanced most quickly under the General Review, and to report on their findings at the 8th meeting of the CPTPP Commission.

As the Membership turns its attention to the year ahead, we reaffirmed that the CPTPP welcomes the interest of and remains open to accession by economies that can satisfy the three Auckland Principles, namely: preparedness to meet the Agreement’s high standards; a demonstrated pattern of complying with trade commitments; and recognition that decisions are dependent on the consensus of the CPTPP Membership.

Further to highlighting the importance of an accession process that ensures the Agreement remains dynamic and living, Members have established an informal standing forum to facilitate information sharing to foster a fair and efficient process for future accessions, and to discuss applications in line with the Auckland Principles.

We also welcomed the United Kingdom’s deposit of its instrument of accession to the CPTPP earlier this week. This follows the completion of the respective applicable legal procedures for entry into force of the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom to the CPTPP by Japan, Singapore, and Chile. Looking forward, we reaffirmed our commitment to ensuring the Protocol enters into force in 2024.

In the lead up to the CPTPP Commission meeting this November, we look forward to continuing the advancement of our shared priorities in a way that reflects the interests of all Members and maintains the high standards of the Agreement.