South Korea is actively considering membership in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as U.S.-China tensions, protectionism and supply-chain restructuring weaken the WTO-centered trading system. The government says it will pursue discussions while consulting industry, agriculture, livestock and fisheries stakeholders. At an Aug. 31 seminar in Seoul, business leaders and experts said CPTPP participation could provide more predictable trade rules, diversify supplies of critical minerals and industrial materials, and effectively create free-trade agreements with Japan and Mexico, where South Korea currently has no FTA. Jeffrey Schott of the Peterson Institute for International Economics said trade with the 12 CPTPP members totaled approximately $341 billion last year, or about 25% of South Korea's total trade, exceeding the shares with China and the United States. Deborah Elms of the Hinrich Foundation described selective partnerships through mechanisms such as the CPTPP as a practical response to increasingly regionalized globalization, while warning that delays could reduce Seoul's influence over rule-making. Domestic opposition from farming, livestock and fisheries groups remains a central challenge.