Media Release: Malaysia Joins the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement Negotiations

Kuala Lumpur , 6 October 2010 – All eight Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) members unanimously agreed to include Malaysia as a full negotiating member of the TPP negotiations. This would effectively enable Malaysia to be involved in the on-going TPP Third Round negotiations in Brunei. Malaysia is the ninth member of TPP. The other current members of the TPP are New Zealand, Chile, Singapore, Brunei, the United States, Australia, Peru and Vietnam.

In line with this development, a Malaysian team of officials from the various Ministries and Agencies are now in Brunei participating in the negotiations of the 23 Working Groups, covering areas such as:

• Trade in Goods ;
• Rules of Origin (ROO );
• Customs Cooperation ;
• Trade Remedies ;
• Sanitary and Phytosanitary ( SPS Measures );
• Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT);
• Government Procurement (GP);
• Competition Policy ;
• Intellectual Property ;
• Trade in Services ;
• Investment;
• Intellectual Property;
• Labour; and
• Environment.

Minister of International Trade and Industry, Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed welcomed this news and is looking forward to meeting with the Ministers from the TPP countries at the margin of the APEC Ministerial Meeting in Yokohama, Japan, later this year.

If successfully implemented, the TPP offers an excellent platform to realise the creation of a huge market, encompassing some of the biggest economies in the Asia-Pacific region. It also acts to introduce a new dimension to regional trade - one that could potentially change the dynamics of trade and investment between the countries of the Pacific Rim and possibly even world trade.

With the US being an existing TPP member, this would enable an additional 11.7 per cent of Malaysia's global trade to be accorded preferential treatment – bringing the total figure to 71.2 per cent of Malaysia's global trade.

Malaysia will benefit from the elimination of duties on 12.4 per cent of Malaysia's exports particularly on footwear and textile and apparel products, which are imposed high duties of up to 37.5 per cent and 32 per cent, respectively. Malaysia will also enjoy elimination of specific duties on cocoa products, petroleum oils, textiles and apparel, footwear, metal products and clocks and watches.

Malaysia views the TPP as a positive step towards deeper economic integration within the Asia Pacific region, similar to efforts currently undertaken through the ASE AN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and the ASEAN FTA initiatives with its dialogue partners. In 2009, Malaysia 's bilateral trade with the TPP member countries totalled RM 285.8 billion or 28.9 per cent of Malaysia 's total trade. The top trading partners of Malaysia in TPP are Singapore and the United States of America.

Ministry of International Trade and Industry
Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
6 October 2010