WTO COMMENDS MALAYSIAN POLICIES
World trade body recognises Malaysia’s success in diversifying and reforming economy, says ministry
FORTY-THREE World Trade Organisation (WTO) members who participated in a question and answer session at the two-day 7th Trade Policy Review (TPR) of Malaysia in Switzerland recently commended the country for its impressive achievements, and prudent trade and economic policies.
Malaysia was also commended for actively pursuing trade openness through unilateral reforms, regional and bilateral arrangements and multilateral rule-making.
The International Trade and Industry Ministry on Saturday said the four-yearly exercise from February 14 to 16 saw the participation of an inter-ministerial team led by secretary-general Datuk Seri J. Jayasiri.
The TPR is an exercise mandated by the WTO Agreement to ensure transparency of trade policies and measures.
All 164 WTO members have to undergo the TPR process and the frequency of each country’s review varies according to its share of world trade.
Malaysia’s 7th TPR was undertaken for the review period 2014 to 2017 and chaired by Juan Car- los Gonzalez, Colom- bia’s Permanent Representative to the WTO. Peru’s Permanent Representative to the WTO served as the discussant.
According to the ministry, the members also recognised that Malaysia’s successful diversification of its economy and economic reforms had contributed to continued growth despite external challenges.
“The bold move to rationalise subsidies on fuel and sugar, among others, indicates Malaysia’s willingness to move towards a market-oriented mechanism.
“Business-friendly initiatives, such as improvements to the Companies Act, were also welcomed, as it led to a reduction in the cost of doing business,” said the ministry.
The 7th TPR saw Malaysia receiving 476 written questions from 27 members, including Argentina, Brazil, Chile, China, the European Union, Japan, Singapore, Ukraine and the United States.
The questions covered a wide range of subjects, including Malaysia’s intellectual property rights and competition policy, foreign investment regime, import licensing procedures, import tariff structure, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, and the services sector, in particular for the finance and energy subsectors, and e-commerce.
Malaysia shared with WTO members the economic developments and reforms that had taken place throughout the period under review.
The participation of 43 WTO members in the question and answer process was a record number for Malaysia, from the first TPR in 1993.
While members noted the commendable efforts by Malaysia, the ministry said improvements were also suggested on an array of issues, such as the need for compliance with the Customs Valuation Agreement and the import licensing regime.
These improvements would ensure transparency, while also being in line with Malaysia’s commitments to the WTO, it added.
In line with efforts at addressing emerging issues at the WTO, Malaysia expressed willingness to exchange views and share experiences on micro, small and medium enterprises and e-commerce.
Jayasiri, in his closing remarks at the TPR, highlighted Malaysia’s continued efforts in pursuing current issues, as well as new areas of interest to the WTO.