Expanding the TPP? Options, prospects and implications for the global trade system

By Jeffrey Wilson

In 2018, the ‘Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the TPP’ (CPTPP) was signed by the remaining eleven members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This bridging agreement salvaged the TPP architecture following US withdrawal in 2017.

Both the original TPP and bridging CPTPP agreements contain accession provisions for the addition of new member states. Eight countries – including the US, Korea, UK, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Taiwan, and China – are considered potential new members.

This report, written by Research Director Dr Jeffrey Wilson, examines the key questions for CP/TPP expansion in early 2021. The report surveys the rationales driving renewed interest in expansion in 2021, reviews the prospects facing the eight potential new members, analyses how the accession process is likely to work in practice, and maps the implications for the global and regional trade architectures of an enlarged CP/TPP.