TPPA gives firms greater market access: Mustapa
Published on: Thursday, October 08, 2015
PUTRAJAYA: The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) provides Malaysian companies with greater market access and give exporters a competitive advantage over regional competitors, International Trade and Industry (Miti) Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said.He said electrical and electronics, chemical, palm oil, rubber, wood, textile as well as automotive parts and components exporters, can access Canada, Mexico, Peru and the United States with whom Malaysia does not have free trade agreements with."This will generate a huge amount in revenue for the national economy and provide employment opportunities for thousands of Malaysians," he told a media briefing on the TPPA here Wednesday.
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Miti was satisfied with the just-concluded TPPA negotiations as among others, Malaysian textiles can enter the US market, Mustapa said.He added that the parties concerned have reached an agreement where import duties for almost all products will be eliminated.He said Malaysia stood firm and remained resolute that the country's Federal Constitution, sovereignty and core policies were safeguarded throughout the five-year-long negotiations."This has always been the case in all of our previous trade agreements with no exceptions. Almost all of our concerns and interests, especially in sensitive areas such as government procurement, state-owned enterprises and Bumiputera issues, were taken into consideration," he said.
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On the inclusion of state-owned enterprises (SOE) provisions for Khazanah Nasional Bhd and Petroliam Nasional Bhd in the TPPA, Mustapa said Miti would meet the board of directors of Khazanah and Petronas to discuss some of the proposals brought from Atlanta."We need to get their approval and then discuss further with the other TPP member countries," he added.
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He said the government will always ensure that any discussion should be in line with the country's socio-economic model, including the role of the SOEs, which plays an important part in the country's transformation.The five-year TPPA negotiation were finally concluded in Atlanta (United States) on Oct 5.The TPPA involves the member states of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), namely Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, South Korea, the United States and Vietnam.On the issue of intellectual property rights, Mustapa said Malaysia stood firm that the agreement should not hinder public accessibility to affordable drugs and healthcare, while at the same time, provide necessary incentives for the production of new drugs and medicines."All parties have achieved a mutually balanced agreement to ensure that their interests are taken into consideration. Thus, the TPPA does not result in any change in Malaysia's patent medicines policy," he added.Asked if China would speed up the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) negotiations following the conclusion of the TPPA, Mustapa said the latter was not an issue for it. He said the G20 ministerial meeting held in Turkey earlier this week welcomed the conclusion of the TPPA and believed it will provide the momentum for more progress in other negotiations and the RCEP as well.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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