Question to the Department for Business and Trade:

To ask the Secretary of State for Business and Trade, pursuant to the Answer of 25 April 2023 to Question 181604 on the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, whether trade unions have powers to raise formal challenges to alleged labour abuses under the Agreement’s dispute mechanism.

The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Labour Chapter is subject to the dispute resolution mechanism contained in Chapter 28 (Dispute Settlement). The dispute settlement mechanism concerns state-to-state dispute settlement, and so it does not permit non-government bodies, including trade unions, to raise a dispute under its provisions.

However, Chapter 28 and the Rules of Procedure for Dispute Settlement provide that non-governmental entities may submit views on a dispute brought under the Agreement. This is subject to the conditions set out in the CPTPP.