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 in 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? Q5 – What is the current status of agri-food trade between Canada and the UK ? Q6 – What is the Government doing about the request to terminate the Canada UK TCA from CCA?

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 99% 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 some agricultural products, such as sweetcorn.
We also obtained more flexible rules of origin, which make it easier for Canadian exporters of pet food and sugar-containing products to compete in the UK market. 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 - Canada and the UK have a comprehensive trade agreement in place that provides tariff free access for the vast majority of agriculture products - the Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement - which does not expire.
In January 2024, the UK paused negotiations with Canada towards a new bilateral agreement.
We are committed to continuing to review this important bilateral trade relationship, including through the Economic and Trade Working Group. R.5 - The UK was Canada’s 9th-largest agri-food and seafood export market in 2024, with $950 million total exports
Between January – July 2025, Canadian agri-food and seafood exports to the UK increased 23.0% to $560.4M, mainly in wheat (+13.1%), corn (+75.0%), pulses (+10.9%), bread and pastries (+0.9%), other oilcakes (+2,770.0%), and other sugars including maple products (+14.4%).
During the same period, the Canadian agri-food and seafood trade balance with the UK has increased substantially to a surplus of CA$50 million, an increase of 17.7% from the same period in 2024. R.6 - The Canada-UK Trade Continuity Agreement (TCA) provides Canadian exporters and investors across the Canadian economy with extensive preferential access to the UK market, including the elimination of 99% of tariffs on Canadian goods.
The Government of Canada engages frequently with the beef sector on the barriers they face in the UK market and raises those concerns at every opportunity, including under the recently established Canada-UK Economic and Trade Working Group.
In the context of the UK’s accession to the CPTPP, Canada secured improvements to our access to the UK including securing duty-free access for sweetcorn, as well as increasing access for meat products subject to TRQs. We also obtained more flexible rules of origin, which make it easier for Canadian exporters of pet food and sugar-containing products to compete in the UK market.
We recognize that we were not able to achieve all the requests of the beef and pork sector during the negotiations. We are committed to working with industry to address the UK’s impediments to meaningful access for Canadian beef and pork.

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).
The UK was the first economy to formally submit its request to accede to the CPTPP. Subsequently, seven other countries have formally requested accession to the CPTPP: China, Taiwan, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay Ukraine, and Indonesia.
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 accession 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 to better reflect our bilateral relationship. On January 25, 2024, the UK paused negotiations with Canada, citing 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. Since the pause in negotiations for the bilateral FTA in January 2024, there has been no formal resumption of negotiations.
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.
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. To-date, the UK and all CPTPP Parties with the exception of Canada and Mexico, have completed domestic ratification procedures. On September 18th, 2025, the Honourable Maninder Sidhu tabled the United Kingdom Accession Protocol to the Comprehensive Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) agreement in the House of Commons. Following the Policy on Tabling of Treaties in Parliament, the first step of the implementation process requires the Government to table the protocol in Parliament for at least 21 sitting days. The implementing legislation Bill C-13, An Act to implement the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the CPTPP was introduced in the House of Commons and received its first reading on October 21. It will now proceed through the standard parliamentary process.

In accordance with the entry into force provisions, the UK officially became a Party and the Protocol entered into force between the UK and ratifying Parties on December 15, 2024 (December 24, 2024, for Australia). For future ratifications, the Protocol will enter into force between the UK and the other Parties (e.g., Canada) 60 days after those Parties ratify the Protocol.
On October 23rd,The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) held a press conference and issued a public statement urging the Government of Canada to terminate the Canada UK TCA, arguing that it has failed to deliver results for Canadian beef producers. The statement followed the tabling of legislation to implement the UK’s accession to the CPTPP. CCA called on the Government of Canada to pursue bilateral negotiations to address trade barriers, particularly the UK’s continued ban on hormone-treated beef.
In terms of the bilateral trade of beef with the UK, Canada's imports from the UK have increased over the past 5 years, while exports to the UK have decreased. In 2024, Canada imported a total of 5,182 MT of beef and beef products from the UK, valued at C$42.5 million. Between January and August of 2025, Canada imported 3,955 MT (32.2 million), which represents an increase of 19.4% over the same period in 2024.
In contrast, Canadian beef and beef product exports to the U.K. have declined sharply from 1,415 MT (C$17.7 million) in 2020 to only 517 kg (C$25,000) in 2024, with no exports recorded between January and August 2025.

· 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% of the global economy and approximately 580 million consumers.

· Including another G7 economy to the CPTPP also offers an opportunity to reinforce its economic and geopolitical credibility, expand the reach of the Agreement’s high standards and heighten its appeal to other economies.