Malaysia will intensify collaboration with other palm oil producing countries to consider more concerted efforts to voice its strong concern before the various committees under the WTO, Mustapa said.
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia and 10 other Asia Pacific countries signed the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) in Santiago, Chile on Thursday.
The Minister of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said the countries were Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
“Despite the absence of the US, Malaysia still stands to gain from market access to countries like Canada, Peru and Mexico with whom we currently do not have preferential trading arrangement,” he said in a statement.
“In addition to the market access, our participation in the CPTPP will also benefit us in terms of enhancing governance in a number of economic sectors, strengthening economic cooperation among member countries and promoting adoption of international standards.
“Malaysia believes that this agreement will help us to further promote our trade and investment agenda and mitigate the challenges of the global economic environment,” he said.
Mustapa said Malaysia would gain from the CPTPP as it would enable more Malaysian companies to expand their presence beyond the borders of the country.
The deal would also enhance Malaysia’s position as a premier investment destination and eventually create additional quality jobs for our people.
“The Malaysian public at large will also benefit from the increase in consumer choices on goods and services in our market,” he said.
To recap, the CPTPP was concluded on Jan 23, 2018 in Tokyo after eight rounds of negotiations which started in early 2017 at Ministers and Senior Officials level.
Mustapa said CPTPP ministers shared the view that, by achieving a high-standard and well-balanced outcome, the Agreement will strengthen the mutually-beneficial linkages among participating economies, boost trade, investment and economic growth in the Asia-Pacific Region, and create new opportunities for businesses, consumers and workers.
“In light of recent protectionist sentiment which is prevalent in a number of countries, the signing of the CPTPP is timely as it sends a strong signal of our commitment towards an open and liberal trading system.
“What the world needs now is more trade and investment flows and not restricted markets,” it said.
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