Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien attends 7th CPTPP Commission Meeting

The meeting took place under the chair of New Zealand Minister for Trade and Export Growth Damien O’Connor, with participants including ministers and high-ranking officials from Australia, Canada, Chile, Malaysia, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the UK, and Vietnam.

Led by Minister of Industry and Trade Nguyen Hong Dien, the Vietnamese delegation to the meeting included representatives of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Government Office and the Office of the Steering Committee for International Economic Integration.

At the meeting, the ministers of CPTPP member countries adopted the CPTPP Commission’s decision to approve the conditions for the UK’s accession, and signed a protocol on the UK’s accession to the agreement, raising the number of its signatories to 12.

Minister Dien represented the Vietnamese Government to sign the protocol and related documents with the UK.

After the signing ceremony, the ministers of CPTPP member countries (including the UK) discussed issues proposed by New Zealand in the agenda, and listened to reports by specialized committees and working groups on the results of CPTPP implementation during the past three years, especially the development of initiatives to boost cooperation among CPTPP members, such as digital economy, and green economy.

The ministers also adopted the decision to establish a provisional committee to be in charge of work related to customs automation and facilitation of digital trade among CPTPP member countries.

The ministers reached a consensus on the necessity of ensuring that the CPTPP is a progressive and comprehensive agreement and it is, therefore, necessary to update it in a timely manner with issues of global concern, such as digital economy, green economy among others.

The ministers shared the opinion that these issues are complicated and should be studied carefully based on the experience of member countries when participating in other bilateral and multilateral cooperation frameworks.

The ministers also discussed the expansion of the CPTPP. So far, six economies have applied for accession to the agreement, including China, Chinese Taipei, Ecuador, Costa Rica, Uruguay, and Ukraine.

Wrapping up the meeting, the ministers of the 12 member countries adopted a joint statement on major results of the 7th CPTPP Commission Meeting. Canada will host the 8th CPTPP ministerial-level meeting scheduled to take place next year.

The CPTPP is a free trade agreement that will eliminate tariffs among member countries and sets out rules on cross-border trade, e-commerce, intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, and labor.
On November 2, 2018, the CPTPP and related documents were submitted to the Vietnamese National Assembly for ratification. On November 12, 2018, the Vietnamese National Assembly adopted a resolution on CPTPP ratification.