CPTPP accession and development: What does Cambodia’s case reveal about regulatory gaps and reform priorities?

Expectations from the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are rising amid intensifying geopolitical uncertainty, growing US protectionism, pressure on its trading partners, and the continued deadlock in World Trade Organization reform. To date, 12 countries from different regions have formally applied to join the CPTPP.[1] Many of these applicants are developing countries. Acceding members are expected to comply fully with all existing CPTPP rules. This requires a clear understanding of the regulatory obligations involved, identification of gaps between CPTPP provisions and domestic legal frameworks, and careful consideration of how these rules align with national development strategies. Cambodia as a case study of accession challenges The UKTPO recently produced a report for the FCDO assessing the case of Cambodia, which applied to join in December 2025. In particular, it focuses on the regulatory gaps between the CPTPP’s e-commerce and environment chapters and Cambodia’s legal framework, identifies compliance risks, and highlights reform priorities as the country prepares to graduate from Least Developed Country (LDC) status in 2029. The report launch event in Phnom Penh (24 April 2026) The analysis finds that compliance gaps reflect both Cambodia’s regulatory constraints and the CPTPP’s mixed structure of binding and more [...]

By |2026-05-20T16:10:52+01:0020 May 2026|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments
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How to future-proof UK-EU dynamic alignment

The UK and EU announced in May 2025 that they would start negotiations to bring aspects of UK food and energy regulation back to EU-alignment. After a period of silence on the UK side, some details are now starting to filter out. Among these, recent headlines report that the UK will introduce legislation later this year to bring this about, likely as part of the King’s Speech in May. While the detail remains unknown, these reports suggest that the UK will use secondary legislation to keep up with new EU rules in relevant areas (otherwise known as ‘dynamic alignment’). Keir Starmer has defended using this light-touch approach to Parliamentary scrutiny where necessary to further the national interest. This blog argues that it will weaken the durability and legitimacy of closer EU relations. A more sustainable path would be to provide mechanisms for consultation and scrutiny, ensuring that EU alignment is not simply at the whim of ministers. Entrenching the post-Brexit executive consolidation of power Brexit proponents have long argued that following Brussels is undemocratic. However, even though Brexit formally restored the UK’s parliamentary sovereignty, what happened next was a reduction in UK Parliamentary scrutiny and a concentration of executive power. [...]

By |2026-04-17T14:19:17+01:0017 April 2026|Blog, International Trade, UK- EU|0 Comments
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Why do countries trade?

This blog is part of our ‘Beginner’s Guide’ series; insightful, accessible explainers of all things trade. The author of this instalment is Pinar Gunes, an Assistant Professor in Trade and CITP researcher at the University of Sussex. In this piece, Pinar delves into how trade shapes economic growth and explains why understanding trade matters more than ever. If you wish to deepen your knowledge on trade policy, check out the CITP's Online Diploma in International Trade Policy.  International trade is often reduced to headlines about tariffs, deficits, and trade wars. It is frequently discussed as a political choice—something governments decide to allow or restrict. Yet beneath this political noise lies a fundamental force that has shaped the world for centuries—the desire to exchange goods and services with others for mutual benefit. Long before money, modern borders, or governments existed, people exchanged goods through barter: trading what they had for what they needed. Because no individual or community could produce everything on their own, exchange became a practical way to survive and prosper. Today, this exchange takes place across national borders on an unprecedented scale, creating a deeply interconnected global economy. Countries trade because they are different The most straightforward reason [...]

By |2026-04-08T08:58:24+01:008 April 2026|Begginer's Guides, Blog|0 Comments
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All roads lead to Geneva: Insights from MC14

From 26 March to the early hours of 30 March 2026, ministers from WTO Members met in Yaoundé, Cameroon, for the 14th WTO Ministerial Conference. The goal was to review the past two years of negotiations and deliver outcomes on the MC14 agenda. Coined the Reform Ministerial, most discussions focused on the WTO's future amidst existing challenges and opportunities. And because it was held in an African country, the MC14 strongly emphasised development-related issues. However, the current geopolitical context affected expectations for MC14, resulting in broad and vague ministerial documents and declarations. WTO negotiations depend on what WTO Members can agree on by consensus. Conflicting interests and diverging interpretations of even cornerstone rules, such as the most-favoured-nation (MFN) principle, made significant progress difficult. MC 14 outcomes MC14 outcomes were reached in advance and only formalised in Yaoundé. WTO Members agreed to continue negotiating fisheries subsidies, with a goal to achieve a comprehensive Agreement on Fisheries Subsidies (AFS2) during MC15. Since AFS1 entered into force on 15 September 2025, Members have until September 2029 to adopt AFS2. Failure to do so will result in the current agreement being terminated (unless the General Council decides otherwise). Ministers also adopted two decisions on [...]

By |2026-03-31T14:30:54+01:0031 March 2026|Blog, International Trade|1 Comment
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Critical Minerals as an Observatory for Evolving Forms of Trade Cooperation

Critical minerals have captured the world’s attention as constituting a modern issue straddling matters of security, sovereignty, industry, and sustainability. Characterized by concentration in production and supply chains, they are imperative for energy transition industries and manufacturing of technology and defence equipment. For resource-hungry economies such as the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, and the United Kingdom, securing resilient and sustainable critical minerals supply chains is key to resolving anxieties about perceived Chinese weaponization of supply chains, and ensuring their economic security and national security. For resource-rich developing countries across Asia, Africa, and South America (e.g. Chile), the priority lies in not only securing fair prices, but also leveraging mineral endowments to support domestic industrialization, economic diversification, and escape primary commodity dependence. In result, we see the re-emergence of an age-old tension that has shaped both the foundations and evolution of global trade. Trade rules conceptualized during the interwar period and institutionalized in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) were grounded in securing access to raw materials and markets. The references to the “resources of the world” (Preamble, First Recital) and “equitable share of the international supply of products” (Article XX(j)), and rules prohibiting the use of quantitative restrictions (Article XI), also reflect this commitment to the free exchange [...]

By |2026-03-25T15:59:28+00:0025 March 2026|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments
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Next steps for Europe-India trade

Long-term talk of deeper Europe-India trade ties is finally accelerating as the mutual value becomes more obvious. This results from common struggles with superpowers US and China, as well as the recognition that the world’s most populous country needs help with its growth and Europe wants to be part of that story. Nonetheless, UK and EU Free Trade Agreements with India are best seen as part of an ongoing process rather than the final outcome. These FTAs are shallow, and there are numerous headwinds such as very different views of the world. This means all governments concerned will need to work hard to see significant economic benefits. The UK-India FTA is expected to come into force this year, with the EU-India equivalent probably at least a year behind. In both cases, their conclusion is still ahead of hopes, since negotiations only really began in 2022, even if building on previously suspended efforts. For India, the economic slowdown during COVID-19 provided an impetus. For the EU and the UK, a large Indian market behind tariff walls was incentive enough. However, it was the turbulence of Trump’s tariffs that provided the extra push to the conclusion. Details of the EU-India FTA are [...]

By , |2026-03-06T15:08:57+00:006 March 2026|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments
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Free Trade with MERCOSUR: An attractive opportunity for the UK?

After a negotiation process characterised by long periods of stagnations and disagreements[1], on the 17th of January, a Partnership Agreement was signed between the European Union and the four founding members of the Southern Common Market (MERCOSUR, as known in Spanish): Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay[2]. This free trade agreement is meant to eliminate tariffs on 91% of EU exports to the South American bloc. This will be done over a 15-year phase-in period, paired with the removal of duties on 92% of MERCOSUR goods sold to the EU, within a 10-year timeframe. There is uncertainty regarding the ratification and implementation of this deal, due to a recent decision by the European Parliament to refer the agreement to the EU Court of Justice. Nevertheless, the economic size of the parties involved (estimated at 18% of the world’s GDP), along with the current context in which traditional large trading partners are becoming less reliable, has generated global interest. Such deal could constitute an example for other economies seeking to secure free trade with like-minded partners. It would allow them to diversify their trade portfolio and diminish their dependence on potentially problematic counterparts. If the deal goes ahead, EU exporters will secure [...]

By |2026-03-03T15:21:34+00:003 March 2026|Blog, International Trade, UK - Non EU|0 Comments
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Making trade work for development: Early signs suggest UK’s new trade scheme is working

In the global debate about tariffs, one thing is clear: trade can be critical to making economies grow and societies more resilient. As part of its commitment to international development, the United Kingdom introduced the Developing Countries Trading Scheme (DCTS) in 2023 to make it easier and cheaper for developing countries to export to the UK. The objective is to stimulate trade from beneficiary countries, promote growth, support economic transformation and help reduce poverty. Now, after two years, the UK government has commissioned independent research to determine if the new trading scheme is indeed encouraging more trade and how it can benefit people in developing countries. Positive early findings The research by the UK’s new Trade and Development, Evidence and Innovation Programme (E&I) has found early, positive signs that the DCTS is succeeding in encouraging developing countries to make greater use of trade preferences. Through the DCTS, which is offered unilaterally by the UK, 65 developing countries can benefit from lower tariffs than countries that are outside the scheme and cannot use other UK trade agreements. So the DCTS can make the goods imported from member countries more competitive. But lower tariffs (or trade preferences) are subject to conditions, which [...]

By , |2026-03-03T10:47:13+00:0027 February 2026|Blog, Trade and Development, Evidence & Innovation Programme (E&I).|0 Comments
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Alignment with limits and safeguards: EFRA’s key recommendations for a UK-EU SPS Agreement

The House of Commons Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Committee (EFRA) has recently published a report responding to the political commitment made at the May 2025 UK–EU Summit to negotiate a common sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) area, with an ambition to conclude negotiations by early 2027. Entitled ‘UK–EU agritrade: making an SPS agreement work’, the report sets out recommendations aimed at ensuring that any future SPS framework is economically beneficial, constitutionally accountable and operationally workable. At its core, the report accepts the economic case for closer regulatory cooperation with the European Union. It recognises the potential benefits of reducing border friction, supporting supply chain resilience and strengthening food security. However, it does not endorse alignment without qualification. Rather, the Committee advances what might be described as an approach of alignment, with limits and safeguards: supporting the negotiation of a common SPS area while seeking targeted exemptions in sensitive areas; calling for robust parliamentary oversight; and insisting on mechanisms to ensure that UK scientific evidence and domestic policy choices are properly reflected in future regulatory developments. Crucially, as a precondition for achieving these safeguards, the Committee urges that the scope of the negotiations is clearly defined and published at an early [...]

By |2026-02-20T17:06:11+00:0020 February 2026|Blog, UK- EU|0 Comments
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Why does the India-EU FTA matter?

The India-EU Free Trade Agreement (FTA) hailed as the “mother of all deals” by both the EU and India, has been under negotiation since 2007. Since the text of the agreement is not available yet to fully verify this claim, it is worth evaluating what can be gleaned about the agreement from the documents released by both sides so far (the EU and India). The Highlights Goods The biggest immediate gain for both sides appear to be on goods, and both parties’ statements focus on these. The coverage appears significant. The FTA reduces tariffs on textiles, apparel, leather, footwear, chemicals, sports goods, toys, gems, and jewellery by India. For the EU, the gains lie in industrial goods, precision machinery, electrical equipment, aviation components, medical devices and other advanced tech. Beyond that, India reducing the high tariffs on cars (although subject to TRQ) is a significant win for the EU. Removing tariffs on chocolate and olive oil altogether, reducing tariffs on wine and spirits, and apples and pears is the cherry on top for the EU’s agriculture sector. Both sides targeted the low hanging fruits and pushed liberalisation of the more controversial goods for further down the road. Sensitive agricultural products [...]

By , |2026-02-18T14:27:39+00:0018 February 2026|Blog, International Trade|0 Comments
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