Question Period Note: UNITED KINGDOM ACCESSION TO THE COMPREHENSIVE AND PROGRESSIVE AGREEMENT FOR TRANS-PACIFIC PARTNERSHIP (CPTPP)

Q1 - What is being done to address non-tariff barriers for beef and pork into the UK market? Q2 – What are the market access gains for Canadian agriculture in the UK accession to the CPTPP? Q3 – How does the accession affect market access for supply-managed products from the UK? Q4 – What is the status of bilateral negotiations with the UK?

R.1 - We will continue to advocate strongly for Canadian beef and pork in the UK market.

We know beef and pork exporters continue to face important challenges in exporting to the UK market and are concerned with the current imbalance of trade for these products between Canada and the UK.

Canada is pressing for the UK to focus on science-based regulations and live up to its international trade obligations. R.2 - While 98% of bilateral trade is duty-free under the Trade Continuity Agreement, Canada secured additional duty-free volumes into the UK for pork and beef, as well as unlimited access for sweetcorn, turkey and eggs. R.3 - Consistent with the Government of Canada’s commitment, we will not be providing additional market access for supply-managed products through this accession. Our government will always stand up for our dairy, poultry and egg farmers, and a strong supply management system in Canada.

We will continue to honour the clear commitment to not provide any additional market access in our supply-managed sectors in any future trade negotiations. R.4 - On January 25, 2024, the UK paused negotiations with Canada. We are disappointed that the UK has paused bilateral negotiations with Canada.

There are a number of issues on the table to improve upon the 2021 Trade Continuity Agreement – both agriculture and non-agriculture issues.

Canada remains ready to engage further at the negotiating table with the UK towards building upon our existing strong and long-standing trade relationship.

As of July 12, 2023, the CPTPP agreement has been ratified, implemented and is in force for all 11 original CPTPP signatories (Canada, Australia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore, Vietnam, Peru, Chile, Malaysia and Brunei).

On February 1, 2021, the UK was the first economy to formally submit its request to accede to the CPTPP. Subsequently, six other countries have formally requested accession to the CPTPP: China, Taiwan, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay and Ukraine. CPTPP Parties decide, by consensus, whether to approve accession requests and enter into negotiations with these aspiring economies.
Between March 12 to April 27, 2021, Canada held public consultations on a Canada-UK bilateral FTA and the UK’s possible CPTPP accession. Agriculture stakeholders raised a number of concerns with respect to sanitary and phytosanitary market access issues with the UK including those impacting beef, pork, grains, and oilseeds. In addition, Canada’s dairy, poultry, and eggs stakeholders requested that Canada not expand TRQ volumes beyond existing levels or otherwise agree to additional market accession concessions, such as reducing over-quota tariffs.
CPTPP Parties began negotiations with the UK on June 1, 2021 and announced substantial conclusion of those negotiations during a ministerial meeting on March 30, 2023.
In parallel, Canada and the UK were negotiating a new bespoke trade agreement that better reflected our bilateral relationship. While there was an aspirational target of completing the bilateral negotiations by April 2024, on January 25, 2024, the UK paused negotiations with Canada, citing privately concerns over market access for cheese and the expiring rules of origin provisions on origin quotas and extended cumulation with the EU, particularly for automobiles (which subsequently expired April 1, 2024), as the main factors in this decision.

Through the UK’s accession to the CPTPP, Canadian exporters will benefit from additional goods market access to the UK under the CPTPP compared to the Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) via additional duty-free tariff rate quota volumes for beef and pork, and immediate duty-free, quota-free access for sweetcorn. In addition, Canada will receive preferential treatment for poultry and eggs, which are excluded under the TCA.
In return for the UK’s tariff commitments under the CPTPP, Canada will provide the UK with volume-limited TRQ access for UK beef into Canada, as well as access to the rest of its CPTPP tariff commitments, including Canada’s existing CPTPP tariff rate quotas for dairy, poultry and eggs, without expanding any of the existing quota volumes.
While ensuring that adherence to the obligations of the CPTPP SPS Chapter was a priority for Canada, other CPTPP Parties prioritized issues other than SPS in the accession negotiations. Without a critical mass of support amongst the CPTPP Parties, it was not possible for Canada on its own to address SPS issues with the UK.
Beef and pork stakeholders have publicly stated dissatisfaction with the results of the accession negotiations due to the UK’s application of unjustified and unnecessary SPS measures which they have retained from the EU that prevent viable commercial access. Prior to the pause in bilateral negotiations, the sector had called on the Government of Canada to ensure the bilateral FTA provide fair access for Canadian red meat exports. If that fails, these stakeholders are asking Parliament to provide fair compensation.
On July 16, 2023, CPTPP parties officially signed the accession protocol for the UK to join the agreement during a ministerial signing ceremony in Auckland, New Zealand. Each of the existing 11 CPTPP parties and the UK has or will be undertaking their domestic ratification procedures to bring the UK’s accession to the CPTPP into force. To-date, Japan, Singapore and Chile have completed domestic ratification procedures.
The UK Accession Protocol will enter into force under a “universal” approach, 60 days after the UK and all CPTPP Parties have ratified. In the event that not all Parties and the UK have ratified within a period of 15 months (October 16, 2024), the approach pivots to “critical mass” approach and the Accession Protocol will enter into force 60 days after both the UK and at least six CPTPP Parties have ratified, for the UK and the Parties that have ratified the Accession Protocol.

• The CPTPP is a success story for Canadian agriculture and agri-food exporters, serving as a platform for access in thriving growth markets in the Indo-Pacific region.

• The CPTPP, with the UK included, now accounts for roughly 15.6% of the global economy and nearly 580 million consumers.

• Including another G7 economy with a $3.6 trillion GDP makes the Agreement stronger and more attractive to other economies considering joining. This opens up more opportunities for Canadian agri-food exporters to grow.