C-13 (45-1) - An Act to implement the Protocol on the Accession of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership
Chamber
commons
Stage
3rd Reading
Introduced
Oct 21, 2025
Progress
This bill formally adds the United Kingdom to the Canada-led Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement.
Key Changes
- Creates a new tariff category called the 'Comprehensive and Progressive United Kingdom Tariff' (CPUKT), giving UK goods preferential (lower or zero) customs duty rates
- Updates the definition of the CPTPP in several Canadian laws to include the UK's accession protocol
- Adds the UK, Channel Islands, and Isle of Man to the list of countries eligible for CPTPP tariff treatment in the Customs Tariff schedule
- Updates the Bank Act's Schedule IV (list of countries covered by trade agreements) to include the UK's accession, affecting how UK-based banks and financial entities are regulated in Canada
- Sets out a phased tariff reduction schedule for certain goods (like footwear, vehicles, and agricultural products), with duties dropping to zero over several years
- Excludes certain sensitive goods (like dairy, poultry, and eggs) from CPUKT tariff benefits entirely, keeping them at existing rates
Gotchas
- A large list of agricultural goods — including dairy products, poultry, eggs, and certain processed foods — are explicitly excluded from the new UK tariff benefits (Schedule 2). These supply-managed sectors remain protected, which is consistent with Canada's approach in other trade deals.
- The bill does not take effect automatically — it comes into force only on a date set by the Governor in Council (Cabinet), meaning the government controls exactly when the new rules kick in.
- Some tariff reductions are retroactive: orders extending tariff benefits can apply to periods before the order is made, but not before the date the CPTPP first came into force between Canada and the UK.
- The Governor in Council (Cabinet) is given broad power to amend Schedule IV of the Bank Act by order — meaning future trade agreement countries can be added, removed, or modified without a new act of Parliament.
- Tariff reductions for some goods (like footwear and vehicles) are phased in over multiple years using staging categories (X78, X79, X80), so the full benefit of free trade is not immediate.
Who's Affected
- Canadian importers and businesses that buy goods from the United Kingdom
- UK exporters selling goods to Canada
- Canadian consumers who may see price changes on UK-origin products
- UK-based banks and financial institutions operating in Canada
- Canadian financial regulators overseeing foreign banks and insurance companies
- Canadian farmers and agricultural producers, particularly in dairy, poultry, and egg sectors (who are protected from new UK competition)
Vibes
0 responses
Gotchas
- A large list of agricultural goods — including dairy products, poultry, eggs, and certain processed foods — are explicitly excluded from the new UK tariff benefits (Schedule 2). These supply-managed sectors remain protected, which is consistent with Canada's approach in other trade deals.
- The bill does not take effect automatically — it comes into force only on a date set by the Governor in Council (Cabinet), meaning the government controls exactly when the new rules kick in.
- Some tariff reductions are retroactive: orders extending tariff benefits can apply to periods before the order is made, but not before the date the CPTPP first came into force between Canada and the UK.
- The Governor in Council (Cabinet) is given broad power to amend Schedule IV of the Bank Act by order — meaning future trade agreement countries can be added, removed, or modified without a new act of Parliament.
- Tariff reductions for some goods (like footwear and vehicles) are phased in over multiple years using staging categories (X78, X79, X80), so the full benefit of free trade is not immediate.
Summary
This bill makes the UK an official member of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), a major trade deal between Canada and several Asia-Pacific countries. The UK signed an agreement to join the CPTPP in July 2023, and this bill updates Canadian law to reflect that membership. It changes how the trade deal is defined in several Canadian laws and creates a new tariff category — the 'Comprehensive and Progressive United Kingdom Tariff' (CPUKT) — so that goods from the UK can receive lower or zero customs duties. The bill affects several Canadian laws, including the Bank Act, the Insurance Companies Act, the Trust and Loan Companies Act, the Customs Tariff, and the Financial Administration Act. These changes ensure that UK-based banks, financial companies, and goods are treated consistently with Canada's new trade obligations under the expanded CPTPP. The bill was introduced because Canada needed to update its domestic laws to match the international agreement it signed with the UK. Without this legislation, Canadian law would not reflect the UK's new status as a CPTPP member, and the trade benefits of the deal could not be properly applied.
Automatically generated from bill text using Claude
Vibes
0 responses