Indonesia's CPTPP Accession Expected to Win Approval at November Summit
Leaders of the 12-member Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) are expected to approve Indonesia's accession during their November 23-27 summit in Vietnam. Ahead of that decision, The Jakarta Post's editorial board is questioning the economic benefits of joining, arguing that worsening corruption and regulatory disorder could leave Indonesia with little more than diplomatic prestige.
The case for joining
Coordinating Minister for Economic Affairs Airlangga Hartarto has said membership could increase Indonesia's export value by up to 10%. He has identified Mexico and Peru among the Latin American markets Indonesia hopes to reach.
The editorial board's question is what additional advantages the pact would offer: Indonesia already has bilateral agreements or ASEAN-level trade arrangements with 10 of its 12 signatories.
With the United Kingdom included, the CPTPP economies account for about 14.4% of global GDP, or roughly $15.8 trillion. By GDP, it ranks fourth among free trade areas, after the USMCA, the European single market and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
Indonesia is also a key participant in the RCEP, a legally binding agreement initiated by ASEAN with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. According to the Peterson Institute for International Economics, the RCEP took effect in January 2022 and is the world's largest free trade agreement. Its 15 members accounted for 29% of global GDP in 2022.
The Jakarta Post's board views the RCEP's less demanding framework as better suited to emerging economies such as Indonesia. It also argues that the Japan- and Australia-led CPTPP lost economic weight after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States in 2017. With China's application stalled since 2021 and South Korea showing little interest, the board sees the exclusion of the world's second-largest economy as reinforcing the impression that the pact chiefly serves as a geopolitical counterweight to Beijing.
A 2027 membership target
Airlangga says Indonesia will become a full member by 2027. The editorial board doubts that timetable, citing the CPTPP's demanding standards. In its assessment, compliance within three years would be nearly impossible without exceptional concessions.
The changes would extend across market access, investment rules, digital trade and government procurement. The board says Jakarta would need both a regulatory overhaul and much tighter coordination among government agencies.
Admission also depends on agreement from every existing signatory. The Peterson Institute for International Economics says applicants must address each member's concerns to secure the required consensus.
Airlangga acknowledged in September 2024 that accession takes time, pointing to the United Kingdom's roughly 2.5-year process. British membership took effect on December 15, 2024, making the UK the first economy to join after the founding members and the first member outside the Pacific Rim.
Indonesia's path to accession
Indonesia filed its application on September 19, 2024. According to Airlangga, the application letter was delivered to New Zealand in its role as the agreement's depositary.
At the ninth CPTPP Commission meeting in Melbourne on November 20-21, 2025, members declared that Indonesia, Uruguay, the United Arab Emirates and the Philippines met the criteria to join. The tenth commission meeting, hosted by Vietnam on June 26, 2026, then authorized preparatory discussions with Indonesia, the Philippines and the UAE.
Other formal applicants include China and Taiwan, which applied in September 2021; Ecuador, in December 2021; Uruguay, in December 2022; and Ukraine, in May 2023. The Philippines and the UAE submitted applications in August 2025, followed by Cambodia in December 2025 and Argentina in June 2026.
Trade diplomacy and domestic follow-through
President Prabowo Subianto's schedule puts economic diplomacy at the center of several upcoming trips. He is due at the ASEAN Summit in Manila on November 16-18, followed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders' meeting in Shenzhen, China, on November 18-19. He will then attend the G20 Summit at Trump National Doral Miami in Florida on December 14-15.
The editorial board calls for Prabowo to receive a thorough briefing on free trade agreements before those meetings. It sees the gatherings as opportunities to present his administration's economic agenda, while stressing that leaders' discussions establish broad principles and that private-sector action is needed to turn them into economic gains.
Accession negotiations do not always end in membership. Costa Rica completed its CPTPP negotiations on May 6, 2026, but announced on October 28 that it would abandon its bid after protests and opposition from agricultural groups and producers.