While the UK's CPTPP Accession Protocol enters into force on 15 December, this may not apply for up to five CPTPP Parties who are yet to ratify the Protocol. This post considers two of the complications this staggered approach to entry into force might create for implementation of the UK's accession.
One interesting point that people frequently forget to mention about CPTPP for the UK is the Progressive part of the agreement. The agreement contains provisions for continual deepening of the content of the agreement, with services and environmental areas (two in which the UK has a significant comparative advantage) being explicitly called out. Assuming the UK can team up with the likes of Singapore, Australia, Canada etc and successfully push for these, this has the potential of having far more significant benefits than most commentators take into account
One interesting point that people frequently forget to mention about CPTPP for the UK is the Progressive part of the agreement. The agreement contains provisions for continual deepening of the content of the agreement, with services and environmental areas (two in which the UK has a significant comparative advantage) being explicitly called out. Assuming the UK can team up with the likes of Singapore, Australia, Canada etc and successfully push for these, this has the potential of having far more significant benefits than most commentators take into account