EU president backs Luxon's EU-CPTPP push

Saturday, 28 June 2025

BRUSSELS | European Union president Ursula von der Leyen has proposed the European trading bloc join forces with the Asia-Pacific CPTPP trading nations, a response to Trump’s tariffs which Prime Minister Christopher Luxon has been pushing.

Speaking after a summit of European leaders early Friday, New Zealand time, von der Leyen said she had proposed the union develop “structured co-operation” with the CPTPP to begin a “redesigning” of the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Her proposal to the leaders of the EU’s 27 member states comes four days after von der Leyen met with Luxon to discuss an EU-CPTPP collaboration.

Co-operation with the CPTPP was the “most attractive and interesting” of the possible options the EU had to expand free trade, von der Leyen said.

“The Asian countries want to have a structured cooperation with the European Union, and the European Union want the same.”

Von der Leyen’s interest in a trade structure outside the WTO is also remarkable because the EU has invested heavily in the multilateral trade organisation, which has been ignored and diminished by the US and China.

“We can think about this as a beginning of redesigning the WTO of course, understanding what should be reformed for the positive in WTO, so not repeating mistakes … but to show to the world that free trade with a large number of countries is possible on a rules-based foundation,” she said.

“This is a project where I think we should really engage on because CPTPP and the European Union -- this is mighty.”

The EU is also expected to finalise negotiations trade deal with US president Donald Trump, who is threatening tariffs of between 20% to 50% on EU imports, in little more than a week.

Political interest in Brussels for more concrete collaboration with the CPTPP will be gladly received in Wellington, where Luxon spoke about pushing for the trading blocs to coordinate in an April speech to business leaders, before calling leaders including von der Leyen.

Speaking to The Post on Thursday, as he was leaving Europe after attending a Nato leaders’ summit, Luxon said it was “good to see that the conversation I originally had with Ursula has been followed through”.

“From the CPTPP trade ministers’ point of view, they just want a dialogue that reaffirms the rules-based system and making sure that if the global economy comes under pressure … we want to make sure that everyone maintains formation.

“That’s what [Trade Minister Todd] McClay and I have advocated for, others have picked up on that as well.”

He said a coordinated effort could respond to trade concerns included dumping, or the flooding of a market with cheap excess production, as well as “tit-for-tat reprisals”.

“I spoke to a number of European leaders about it as well, but the real decision really sits with Ursula.”

He said the idea was being championed by others including Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, who he met this week.

Singapore is another CPTPP member that has supported the idea of coordination with the EU.

Foreign Minister Winston Peters, however, has not been supportive. After Luxon’s speech in April, he spent much of a week publicly warning the idea was “premature”. The NZ First leader, an economic nationalist, has a history of opposing free trade deals.

The CPTPP and the EU combined amount to about 30% of the world’s trade. The US is not a member of the CPTPP, Trump having pulled the country out of negotiations for the agreement in 2017.

China and Taiwan have applications to join the Pacific-wide trading bloc. The United Kingdom joined the bloc in December 2024.

* Thomas Manch’s travel to Europe was supported by the European Union in New Zealand.