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Select committee: International Agreements Committee

Conclusion 40

10th Report - UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP): Scrutiny of the Government’s Negotiating Objectives Published 17 Nov 2021 Paragraph 161

International Agreements Committee Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗

Conclusion (the committee's words)
In line with commitments made in respect of the Australia and the New Zealand FTAs, at the conclusion of negotiations, the International Agreements Committee (and the Commons’ International Trade Committee) should be given access to the text of the signed agreement, including all market access schedules agreed with each CPTPP member, at least three months before the agreement is formally laid under CRAG.

From: International Agreements Committee, 10th Report - UK accession to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP): Scrutiny of the Government’s Negotiating Objectives, paragraph 161, 17 November 2021

Government response

The government responded to the whole report on 19 January 2022 (deadline 5 September 2022).

Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.

The government says it will "only accede to CPTPP on terms which are beneficial to the UK", agreeing with some recommendations, giving limited detail on negotiating positions, and stating that accession is not a re-negotiation of the agreement.

  • On side letters and carve-outs, the government "will consider these options insofar as there is a need to safeguard UK interests", and says full disclosure of its most sensitive positions "would lead to worse negotiated outcomes".
  • On agricultural imports, it states that "Nothing in this deal will undermine our standards" and that imports "must and will continue to meet all the relevant UK rules and regulations".
  • On NHS medicines costs, it says it "will not accede to CPTPP on terms which make medicines more expensive or less accessible".
  • On parliamentary scrutiny, it will "continue to provide regular updates" and private briefings, and "will endeavour" to share the treaty text confidentially with committees shortly before publication "where time allows".

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