The Philippines and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have applied to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
According to a report by Japan's Nikkei on November 3, the Philippines and the UAE submitted their application documents to New Zealand, which currently serves as the secretariat, in August. The applications from these two countries come about a year after Indonesia's application in September of last year.
As a result, the number of countries that have applied to join the CPTPP and are awaiting the start of negotiations has increased to eight. To begin negotiations after applying, unanimous consent from all member states is required. Costa Rica is currently in negotiations.
South Korea is also considering joining. On September 3, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Koo Yuncheol stated at the Economic Ministers' Meeting and the Meeting on Industrial Competitiveness that the government would consider joining the CPTPP to secure an economic alliance network with countries in similar positions, as part of its response to U.S. tariff measures.
The CPTPP is a multilateral free trade agreement (FTA) established in 2018 by countries in the Asia-Pacific region. Including the United Kingdom, which joined in December of last year, there are currently 12 member countries: Japan, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Mexico, Chile, Malaysia, Vietnam, and Singapore. The agreement was originally promoted as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), which included the United States, but after the U.S. decided to withdraw in 2017 during the first Donald Trump administration, Japan and others led the effort to launch the CPTPP.
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