Do you trade with Canada? The UK joins CPTPP and this could affect your business

If you export goods to Canada, you may be interested to know that recent changes could affect your trading status.

As of 2026, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) has 12 member countries.

The 11 original founding members:

Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

And the newest member:

United Kingdom

The UK has become the 12th member of CPTPP — and the first European nation to join the partnership.

Under the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), UK goods do not automatically qualify for preferential (reduced or zero) tariffs simply by being dispatched from a UK warehouse. They must possess the “economic nationality” of a CPTPP member state, determined through strict Rules of Origin (RoO).

How Products Qualify

For a product to be considered “originating,” it must meet one of three core criteria:

• Wholly Obtained or Produced. The item is entirely grown, extracted, or produced in the UK or other CPTPP member countries (e.g. agricultural products grown in the UK, or minerals were extracted there).
• Produced Entirely from Originating Materials. The final product is manufactured entirely from inputs that already qualify as originating under CPTPP rules.
• Meets a Product-Specific Rule (PSR). If the product contains inputs from outside the CPTPP zone, it must undergo sufficient transformation within the UK. Each product has a specific rule based on its Harmonised System (HS) commodity code.

Product-Specific Rules Breakdown

If your product contains non-originating materials, it generally must satisfy one of three types of PSR:

• Change in Tariff Classification (CTC). The non-originating materials must undergo sufficient processing in the UK so that the final product is classified under a different HS code than the imported materials. This can require a change at the Chapter (2-digit), Heading (4-digit), or Subheading (6-digit) level.
• Regional Value Content (RVC). A minimum percentage of the product’s value must be created within the UK or CPTPP region. For instance, an RVC of 40% means at least 40% of the final value must be from originating materials or value added locally.
• Specific Processing Rules. The product must undergo a specific manufacturing operation defined in the agreement, which is common for chemicals and textiles.

The Cumulation Advantage

CPTPP features “full cumulation” meaning materials and processing from any of the 12 CPTPP member countries count towards the originating status of your product when manufactured in the UK.

What Does Not Qualify?

A product does not acquire UK origin status if it only undergoes minimal operations in the UK. Activities like unloading, storing, separating bulk shipments, labelling, packing or simply preserving products are insufficient to claim preferential tariffs.

Claiming Preference

To claim the preferential tariff the exporter, producer or importer must provide a Certification of Origin. There is no prescribed formal certificate; it is a written declaration containing minimum data elements (such as certifier details, HS code and the specific origin criterion met) that accompanies the customs documentation.

If you have any queries about exporting goods from UK to Canada and how CPTPP may affect your business, please get in touch with your OCS Account Manager or our OCS customs advisory desk.