This assessment was made by Ian Tandy and Surajit Rakshit, experts from HSBC, following the UK’s official membership in the CPTPP on December 15.  

The UK is now the 12th member of this agreement, joining Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam. With the UK’s inclusion, the combined markets of CPTPP countries now account for approximately 15% of global GDP, up from 12% previously.  

HSBC experts highlighted the significant potential for trade growth between the UK and the Asia-Pacific markets. The UK is an important export market for Asia, importing a wide range of products such as fruits, seafood, rice, rubber, and metals.  

For Vietnam, this development strengthens its access to another high-quality market, alongside Japan, Canada, and Australia. Vietnamese exports to CPTPP markets in the Americas have nearly doubled, from 6.3 billion USD in 2018 to 11.7 billion USD last year. Trade surplus with these markets also nearly tripled, exceeding 11 billion USD, according to Vietnam Customs.  

Before CPTPP, Vietnam had already signed the UK-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (UKVFTA) in 2020. Despite declining exports to many markets last year, Vietnamese exports to the UK rose by 11%. In the first 11 months of this year, exports to the UK increased by 19.5% year-on-year.  

Key export items included phones and components (1.08 billion USD) and machinery and equipment (1.2 billion USD). Other significant products were textiles (902 million USD), yarn (692 million USD), seafood (288 million USD), steel (214 million USD), and wood products (201 million USD).  

British Ambassador to Vietnam Iain Frew described Vietnam as a gateway to Southeast Asia. “We are ready to support Vietnam’s ambitions for sustainable growth and innovation while promoting inclusive trade,” he said on December 15.  

According to HSBC experts, by 2025, with the UK’s CPTPP membership, the existing UKVFTA, and Vietnam’s fundamental strengths, the country will continue to stand out in the region, offering numerous opportunities for global partners.  

For CPTPP members, the UK is considered a highly favorable trading partner, said Ian Tandy and Surajit Rakshit. Asian countries gain greater access to the world’s sixth-largest economy, which boasts a highly specialized financial market.  

Conversely, British businesses can tap into the region’s expanding manufacturing sectors and its increasingly affluent, digitally connected consumer base. UK authorities estimate that CPTPP membership could contribute around 2 billion pounds (approximately 2.5 billion USD) annually to the UK economy by providing British businesses access to a market of over 500 million people.  

The UK’s presence also simplifies supply chains. CPTPP's rules of origin provisions allow contributions from all member countries to be aggregated. In other words, components of a product manufactured in five different CPTPP countries can collectively count toward the required content for the final product.