Kuala Lumpur (VNA) – Malaysia’s exports to member countries of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) rose by 4.7% to 486.80 billion MYR (over 123 billion USD) in 2025, compared with 464.80 billion MYR in 2024.
Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry Johari Abdul Ghani said the increase was largely driven by higher exports to Mexico (up 57%), Chile (15.3%), Singapore (8.1%), Vietnam (2.6%), the UK (2.4%), Canada (2.1%) and Peru (1.6%).
He said that through the CPTPP, exporters can access non-traditional markets such as Canada, Mexico and Peru and, for the first time, gain preferential access to the UK market, which had previously been subject to regular tariffs.
He cited statistics as showing that the issuance of certificates of origin (CO) for the CPTPP bloc surged dramatically to 21,993 COs in 2025, with an export value of 7 billion MYR, compared with 6,230 COs and 2.7 billion MYR in exports in 2023.
This proves that local companies are increasingly savvy in leveraging CPTPP tariffs and are aggressively exploring alternative markets for goods, services and raw material supply chains, the minister noted.
Speaking at the parliament on March 3, Johari said Malaysia has consistently maintained that any unilateral actions challenging the principles of free trade should be addressed collectively through the World Trade Organisation (WTO).
To respond pragmatically to global uncertainties, Malaysia has initiated integrated cooperation among trading partners within the framework of free trade agreements (FTAs), while avoiding a confrontational stance toward any major global economic power. Its proposal to strengthen integrated cooperation among trade promotion organisations (TPOs) of the 12 CPTPP member economies has been positively received and endorsed by the CPTPP Commission, the minister went on.
According to Johari, the initiative aims to maximise the bloc’s intra-regional economic potential and help micro, small and medium-sized enterprises (MSMEs) better tap into the benefits of the CPTPP through improved market information coordination and more effective trade missions.
To this end, Malaysia, through the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI) and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), has mobilised cooperation among trade-oriented organisations to promote trade flows within the CPTPP.
Malaysia has advanced this initiative through MATRADE’s export promotion programmes, with a particular focus on non-traditional markets. The most notable outcome has been in Mexico, where Malaysia’s exports surged 59.7% to reach 30.1 billion MYR in 2025, he added./.
