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PETALING JAYA: Malaysia has officially been admitted to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), joining six other countries that have completed their ratification process.

It also welcomed the impending accession by the UK to the economic bloc expected by the end of the year.

Malaysia is part of a group, including Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam and Peru, that have completed the required ratification process.

In a statement, the investment, trade and industry ministry said Malaysia ratified the UK’s accession to the CPTPP on Sept 17, marking the nation’s first bilateral free trade agreement with the country, when it becomes a member.

It said that upon implementation of the FTA with the UK, Malaysian exports will benefit from duty-free treatment on 94% of tariff lines, particularly for key products such as palm oil, cocoa, rubber, electronics, chemicals and machinery.

"With the UK’s entry, the CPTPP will also have a combined GDP value of US$15.4 trillion, or 15% of global GDP," it said.

Investment, trade and industry minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz said the UK’s entry enhances Malaysia’s export access and boosts the country’s global competitiveness and integration into the global supply chain.

"Malaysia’s membership of the CPTPP, the gold standard for trade agreements, has also significantly boosted our competitiveness, fostered investors’ confidence and cultivated our exporters’ deeper integration into the global supply chain," he said in the statement.

The CPTPP currently includes 11 member countries – Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.