Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) joint ministerial statement on expansion, implementation and co-operation: 26 June 2026
Published 26 June 2026
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Ministers and representatives of Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United Kingdom, and Vietnam, as the Parties to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), met virtually on 26 June 2026.
Amidst the growing challenges to the global trading system, we reaffirmed our shared commitment to a free, fair, open, transparent, inclusive, and rules-based trading system, with the World Trade Organization (WTO) at its core. We are determined to ensure that the CPTPP continues to play a key role in fostering economic integration and supporting the prosperity of our economies.
Progress on the accession working groups of Costa Rica and Uruguay
We recalled the substantial conclusion of the negotiations for the accession of Costa Rica to the CPTPP in May 2026 and the progress made toward preparing Costa Rica’s legal instrument of accession to the CPTPP. We reaffirmed our commitment to formalise the conclusion of the process as soon as possible.
We welcomed the advances achieved in the accession working group on Uruguay’s accession to the CPTPP. We instructed the group to expedite its work with a view to achieving substantive progress, and to report back at the next CPTPP commission meeting.
Expanding the benefits of CPTPP while promoting high standards
In the CPTPP joint ministerial statement issued in Melbourne in November 2025, we identified that the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the Philippines and Indonesia are in line with the Auckland Principles.
Further to that statement, we have now decided to begin preparatory discussions with those selected economies. We instruct senior officials to take the appropriate steps to carry these out and report back to us.
We note that these discussions do not constitute, guarantee or preclude the launch of an accession working group. All decisions of the CPTPP, including those relating to accession matters, continue to be taken by consensus among the Parties.
We remain committed to the agreement’s continued expansion in accordance with the Auckland Principles. We intend to meet again in 2026 to consider further decisions on accessions, as appropriate.
Ensuring a fair, transparent, and predictable trading environment
The CPTPP’s high standards contribute to a fair, transparent and predictable trading environment and reflect the significant commitments that we have made to each other through the agreement, and we reiterate our collective commitment to upholding these.
The CPTPP’s provisions relating to rules of origin and customs administration and trade facilitation are essential to maintaining the integrity of CPTPP preferences and reducing the risk of unfair trade practices such as circumvention and illegal transshipment.
We have decided to establish an ad hoc working group in this regard. The working group will be an active forum for our experts to deepen co-operation across issues including rules of origin, and customs administration and trade facilitation, and to consider options to more effectively use existing CPTPP mechanisms. Furthermore, we welcome a workshop to be hosted by Japan in July 2026 as part of concrete co-operation with the European Union (EU) and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
Upgrading negotiations and co-operative activities
We welcome the progress of negotiations and co-operation to update and enhance the agreement based on our decision in Melbourne. We task officials to accelerate this work and report on progress at the next CPTPP commission meeting.
Trade and investment dialogues
We reaffirmed our vision for the trade and investment dialogues between the CPTPP and the ASEAN, and the CPTPP and the EU, and our interest in constructive and forward-looking engagement. We emphasised the priority that we are according both dialogues and welcomed officials’ efforts to progress technical discussions under each to achieve concrete outcomes. We affirmed that any further initiatives, including trade and investment dialogues, will be carried out by consensus of the CPTPP Parties.