Minister for Trade (Sir ): From today, 22 June 2026,
the terms of the UK's accession to the Comprehensive and
Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) have
entered into force with Mexico. This follows Mexico's recent
ratification of the UK's accession, and it means that UK traders
are now able to trade with Mexico under the terms of the CPTPP
for the first time. This supports the Government's Growth Mission
by providing tariff benefits, new digital provisions and
additional market access beyond the current bilateral UK-Mexico
FTA, with benefits for UK traders and consumers.
Benefits for UK traders and consumers
British farmers and food and drink manufacturers will benefit
from improved opportunities to trade with Mexico. For example,
chocolate producers will benefit from zero tariffs when exporting
to Mexico, compared with tariffs of up to around 25% at present.
In addition, cheese exporters will receive tariff-free access to
Mexico through a shared quota, with further shared duty-free
quotas also available for other dairy products.
There will also be opportunities for pork sectors, with duty-free
access for pork from day one.
Lower tariffs on Mexican exports, including honey, chocolate,
asparagus, sweetcorn and orange juice, may also benefit British
consumers if those reductions are passed on through lower prices.
The UK's current trading arrangements with Mexico contain only
limited commitments on temporary business travel. By contrast,
CPTPP includes more comprehensive commitments for UK
businesspersons, including the ability for dependants to
accompany intra-corporate transferees, as well as commitments
covering investors, independent professionals and contractual
service suppliers for the first time.
UK financial services firms will also benefit from greater legal
certainty when trading with clients based in Mexico, including
when providing portfolio management and e-payment card services.
For UK traders exporting to Mexico, CPTPP introduces new digital
trade and supply chain benefits which do not exist in our current
bilateral agreement. It supports cross-border data flows,
protects source code and cryptography, and prohibits unjustified
data localisation requirements, giving businesses greater
certainty, security and lower compliance costs.
It also allows cumulation of content from other CPTPP countries,
increasing flexibility and strengthening export resilience for
industries with complex supply chains, including in the
automotive industry.
Other CPTPP updates
Mexico is the 10th country with whom the UK's CPTPP
accession has entered into force, out of a possible 11. The UK
also welcomes the progress Canada is making on the legislation
required to implement the UK's CPTPP Accession Protocol. The UK
currently expects this to be completed later this year, and we
look forward to the agreement entering into force with Canada at
the appropriate moment.
As the Trade Strategy outlines, CPTPP is a living' agreement,
intended to evolve with the wider global economy. Earlier this
month, on 6 May, CPTPP Parties substantially concluded Costa
Rica's accession negotiations following eighteen months of
negotiations, demonstrating that CPTPP remains open and dynamic.
The UK also remains closely engaged in the recently launched
accession process for Uruguay
I look forward to keeping you updated on future CPTPP
developments.
