MEEPA

MALAYSIA-EFTA ECONOMIC PARTNERSHIP AGREEMENT (MEEPA)

 

Date of Signing of MEEPA                    : 23 June 2025

Date of Entry into Force of MEEPA       : N/A

 

Conclusion and Signing of MEEPA

 

On 23 June 2025, Malaysia and the EFTA States (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland) signed an Economic Partnership Agreement in Tromsø, Norway. The Parties also signed a Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Capacity Building and a Joint Statement on Sustainable Palm Oil.

 

Additionally, during the MEEPA signing, MITI Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz witnessed the MOU exchange between Universiti Teknologi Petronas and two Norwegian universities: the University of South-Eastern and the University of Stavanger. The initiative aims to promote academic collaboration and specialised expertise in hydrogen technology, carbon capture and related areas in energy and shipping.

 

Negotiations on MEEPA began in March 2014 and were finally concluded on 11 April 2025, following a decade-long process.

 

Upon entry into force, MEEPA guarantees long-term duty-free access to more than 90% of Malaysia’s exports, including all industrial products, to the four signatory countries, securing benefits that were previously offered under the temporary unilateral scheme of Generalised System of Preferences (GSP).

 

The Agreement also has a robust built-in agenda for cooperation and capacity building programmes, to further strengthen the development of sectoral capabilities in areas such as engineering, science, technology and innovation; green mobility and transportation; digitalisation and automation; pharmaceuticals and medical devices; as well as human capital development through training, internships and expert exchange programmes.

 

Malaysia and the EFTA countries will now work towards completing their domestic processes to bring the Agreement into force. At this stage, Malaysian exporters and importers cannot utilise the MEEPA until the Agreement comes into effect.

 

MEEPA Text Agreement

 

As Malaysia’s first FTA with several European countries, MEEPA covers goods, services, investments, intellectual property rights, customs facilitation, competition policy, sanitary and phytosanitary, trade and sustainable development, government procurement and economic cooperation.

 

The text of the Agreement can be accessed below.

 

Table of Contents

 

Main Agreement of MEEPA

 

Memorandum of Understanding on Cooperation and Capacity Building

 

Joint Statement on Sustainable Palm Oil

 

Annexes

 

Trade in Goods

Annex I Rules of Origin and Administrative Cooperation

Appendix 1 Product-Specific Rules

Annex II Product Coverage of Non-Agricultural Goods      

Annex III Tariff Schedule Malaysia     

Annex IV Tariff Schedule Iceland        

Annex V Tariff Schedule Norway

Annex VI Tariff Schedule Switzerland 

Annex VII Functions of the Sub-Committee on Trade in Goods   

Annex VIII Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation     

 

Technical Barriers to Trade

Annex IX Electrical and Electronic Products  

Annex X Good Laboratory Practice      

Annex XI Good Manufacturing Practice (Bilateral: Malaysia-Switzerland)

Annex XII Marking and Labelling

 

Services

Annex XIII Schedules of Specific Commitments      

Appendix 1 Malaysia

Appendix 2 Iceland

Appendix 3 Liechtenstein

Appendix 4 Norway

Appendix 5 Switzerland

 

Annex XIV Lists of MFN Exemptions    

Appendix 1 Malaysia

Appendix 2 Iceland

Appendix 3 Liechtenstein

Appendix 4 Norway

Appendix 5 Switzerland

 

Annex XV Financial Services     

 

Annex XVI Telecommunications Services      

 

Annex XVII Covered Sectors     

 

Investment

Annex XVIII Investment Reservations 

Appendix 1 Malaysia

Appendix 2 Iceland

Appendix 3 Liechtenstein

Appendix 4 Norway

Appendix 5 Switzerland

 

Intellectual Property Rights

Annex XIX Protection of Intellectual Property          

 

Government Procurement

Annex XX Government Procurement