The UK is starting talks to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (#CPTPP)

One way of finding out what it is: look at the text.

Here goes.

It doesn’t have a Secretariat so the text is published by each govt. Google “CPTPP text”

1/13
New Zealand is a good place to start. It has the text by chapter, 30 of them: mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-…

(Canada has summaries by chapter: international.gc.ca/trade-commerce…)

#CPTPP

2/13
“Wow! 30 chapters. Better start reading”

“Hang on. There’s more.”

mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-…

#CPTPP

3/13
“Right. Is that it?”

“Those are only the side agreements involving New Zealand. Here are Australia’s”

dfat.gov.au/trade/agreemen…

#CPTPP

4/13
“Er, how many members does #CPTPP have?”

"Eleven.

“Don’t worry. We’re not going through all the side agreements.

“But these next bits are important. The Annexes. Annex 2-D contains the tariff commitments of each country.”

mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-…

#CPTPP

5/13
“And there are side deal in the tariff commitments too?”

“Yes. Some details, then. Here’s Japan’s commitment on tariffs. It’s 1,133 pages! And, for example, there are tariff quotas on beef, some still with an in-quota tariff after 21 years. mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…

#CPTPP

6/13
“So not always duty-free.”

“Correct, but most is. And Japan has some stuff on price differentials.”

“Meaning?”

“Don’t ask me! Looks like some combination of options used for proof of origin and corresponding tariffs. See for yourself.”

mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…

#CPTPP

7/13
“Pure poetry”

“More of your ‘poetry’ in the Canada-Japan deal on vehicle tariffs. Looks like an ‘MFN’ provision, so favourable terms for others in #CPTPP on regulations etc have to be matched between the two, plus something on safeguard tariffs.”

mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…

8/13
“Now our favourite subject. Rules of origin, to be ‘made in’ a #CPTPP country and qualify for zero/lower duty. The main text has general rules. The 212-page appendix has variations for specific products mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…. 3 pages for vehicles mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…

9/13
“And more rules of origin, this time for textiles products mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…

“Oh and something called a ‘short supply list’. No I haven’t read it. mfat.govt.nz/assets/Trade-a…

#CPTPP

10/13
“That’s it?”

“No. You’re forgetting services”

“Everyone forgets services”

“Some details on temporary entry for services professionals, known as ‘mode 4’. And government procurement commitments, like buying vaccines and nuclear reactors”

mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-…

#CPTPP

11/13
“And they are followed by lots of exemptions from commitments on services. ‘Non-conforming’.”

mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-…

#CPTPP

12/13
“Are we there yet?”

“Yes. Finally some tidying up documents.

“And that, my friend, is what Britain’s negotiation to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (#CPTPP) will involve.”

mfat.govt.nz/en/trade/free-…

13/13

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More from @CoppetainPU

30 Jan
COVID-19 in Switzerland. Week to 30.01.2021—High but creeping down

Semi-lockdown: to end-Feb

Per 100K population, total & last 2 weeks
● cases—6030 & 263
● in hospital—250 & 9
● deaths—100 & 6

R(e): up slightly—0.86
NEW: Vaccinations: 262K

FOPH covid19.admin.ch/en/overview?ov…

1/8 Screenshot of box on lab-confirmed cases with data and chartScreenshot of box on lab-confirmed hospitalisations with datScreenshot of box on lab-confirmed deaths with data and charScreenshot of box on Reproductive number Re (lag in calculat
And for the past fortnight, R(e) since Sep28

covid19.admin.ch/en/overview

Pfizer/BioNTech, Moderna mRNA vaccinations ongoing. Pfizer supply delayed. Still waiting for approval: AstraZenenca, Janssen-Cilag (J&J). Switzerland has ordered 15.8m doses for 8m people

2/8 Screenshot of box on lab-confirmed cases (past fortnight) wiScreenshot of box on lab-confirmed hospitalisations (past foScreenshot of box on lab-confirmed deaths (past fortnight) wScreenshot of Reproductive number since 28.09.2020
By canton: lab-confirmed cases in the past fortnight per 100K population—Picture very similar to last week. Scale for dark blue down from 500 to 430, so slight improvement. Jura, Valais, Nidwalden and Glarus still worst

More: covid19.admin.ch/en/epidemiolog…

3/8 Screenshot of map showing different rates by canton: lab-con
Read 8 tweets
4 Jan
JANUARY 4, 2021

The first day back at work at the WTO.

What’s happened to the UK’s commitments (“schedules”) on goods (tariffs, tariff quotas, farm support) and services in the WTO now that the Brexit transition is over, and the UK no longer applies the EU’s commitments?

1/12
NEW UK DOCUMENT

The UK has circulated a new document outlining the latest situation with the commitments on goods and services, various agreements, applied tariffs and preferences (GSP, UK-EU deal), WTO dispute settlement, trade remedies, laws

docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…

2/12 Image
GOODS
Tariffs, tariff quotas, farm support

The UK is now applying the commitments it proposed in 2018 with amendments in May and Dec 2020 (correcting errors) even though they have not been agreed.

5 rounds of talks. Some agreement, or “close” to

docs.wto.org/dol2fe/Pages/S…

3/12 ImageImage
Read 12 tweets
2 Jan
COVID-19 in Switzerland. Week ending 31.12.2020—High but down slightly. Vaccination started. Data disrupted by holiday

Per 100K population, total & last 2 wks
● cases—5232 & 583
● in hospital—216 & 20
● deaths—82 & 12

Federal public health office covid19.admin.ch/en/overview?ov…

1/7 Screenshot of box on lab-co...Screenshot of box on lab-co...Screenshot of box on lab-co...
And for the past fortnight

covid19.admin.ch/en/overview

(Various options on the page give a lot of different data.)

Pfizer/BioNTech mRNA vaccinations started. Still waiting for approval: Moderna, AstraZenenca, etc. Switzerland has ordered 15.8m doses for 8m people

2/7 Screenshot of box on lab-co...Screenshot of box on lab-co...Screenshot of box on lab-co...
By canton: lab-confirmed cases in the past fortnight per 100K population

Improving. Darker shading still in the Germanic east and Italian Ticino. French-speaking cantons generally better. Worst: Liechtenstein.

covid19.admin.ch/en/epidemiolog…

3/7 Screenshot of map showing d...
Read 7 tweets
1 Jan
It's January 1, 2021. The transition is over. Britain has left the EU Single Market and customs union.

How many of the EU’s free trade agreements have been “rolled over” into continuity agreements with the UK? How many have not been done?

1/7
Bearing in mind that

(1) some continuity agreements do not replicate the EU’s free trade agreements in full (rules of origin; sectors, regulations, mutual recognition not covered)

(2) trade figures cited are for TOTAL trade, not trade affected by the continuity deals

2/7
All the deals are listed on this page: gov.uk/guidance/uk-tr…

SUMMARY

DONE DEALS
Number of countries: 60
Number of agreements: 30
Total trade with those countries: £174 billion
Full ratification: 31 countries
Provisional application: 21
Bridging mechanism: 8 countries

3/7
Read 8 tweets
13 Dec 20
How can the UK be ready for Australia terms, when those terms are not available to the UK @BorisJohnson?

With no deal, how will it get tariff quota access to the EU for lamb, beef, cheese? Australia does.

How will it get free trade deals with all its neighbours? Australia does.
The UK will be making trade more difficult with its main trading partners, Mr Johnson.

Australia has been making trade easier with its main trading partners.
"No deal" is worse than "Australia terms".

"Australia terms" are not available to the UK

tradebetablog.wordpress.com/2020/11/30/wor…
Read 4 tweets
12 Dec 20
Another informative piece by @tconnellyRTE, this time on the level playing field. Definitely recommended reading.

Some parts of it piqued my curiosity

1/7

rte.ie/news/brexit/20…
First, the theme is about the UK having to follow EU standard, implying the UK may want to have lower standards than the EU.

But Frost’s vision was of a nimble UK able to set its own standards. Wouldn’t this force the EU to follow?

rte.ie/news/brexit/20…

2/7
If not follow, then at least be constrained by the higher UK standard under a ratchet as in the EU’s March 2020 “ratchet” draft. Note the text refers to “party”/“parties” so applies to either side.

ec.europa.eu/info/sites/inf…

3/7
Read 7 tweets

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