Malaysian representative (C) at the meeting to conclude negotiations of TPP agreement in the US (Photo: VNA)Hanoi (VNA) – The engagement in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is expected to help Malaysia increase competitiveness and promote trade and investment in the upcoming decades.
Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamed said the trade pact will urge local people to actively get involved in both the domestic market and other TPP markets such as Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the US and Vietnam.
With TPP, Malaysia could catch up with international standards on environment and labour issues, he said.
More than 90 percent of products to Malaysia will enjoy zero percent tariffs according to various agreements.
Particularly, Malaysian small-and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are likely to significantly benefit from the pact since most of the tariffs will be removed in markets that signed new free trade agreements with the country such as the US, Canada, Mexico, and Peru.
According to Minister Mustapa, Malaysia will gain competitive edges over its rivals in the region in the fields of electricity, electrics, chemical and palm oil products.
The country will eliminate tariffs for nearly 85 percent of products imported from TPP members once the pact takes effect.
Negotiations on the trade pact concluded in the US on October 5. The TPP represents about 40 percent of the global gross domestic product and a population of 800 million people. The deal must be officially signed by the participants and be approved by the legislature of each nation before taking effect.-VNA
