TPP resurrected

> It’s now the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership, minus 20 provisions that were in the original agreement

PETALING JAYA: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has been resurrected as the Comprehensive and Progressive TPP (CPTPP) minus 20 provisions, including those in the intellectual property segment, specifically biologics, patent term adjustment and copyrights, which are of particular interest to Malaysia.

According to a statement issued by the Minister of International Trade and Industry on Saturday, the 11 members of the partnership have agreed on the text of the CPTPP agreement but a number of issues remain to be finalised before the signing of the deal.

The TPP member countries are Australia, Brunei, Chile, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Malaysia, Canada and Mexico. The US opted out in January this year.

“The agreement reached here in Da Nang, Vietnam, will be brought back for further engagement with the relevant stakeholders back home,” Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said in the statement following the summit of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) countries in Vietnam.

He said the original TPPA which included the US was signed after considering all costs and benefits associated with the trade deal.

Despite the absence of the US now, Mustapa said, Malaysia still stands to gain benefits from market access to countries such as Canada, Peru and Mexico.

“Overall, we believe that the benefits from the CPTPP will outweigh its costs in the context of Malaysia. Our continued involvement in the CPTPP is a testament of Malaysia’s commitment to globalisation and multilateralism,” Mustapa said.

“Another consideration for Malaysia is the impact to our economy should we decide not to join the CPTPP, while the remaining 10 countries move ahead.

“We will not only miss out on the opportunities to strengthen our trade and investment ties with these 10 countries, but also with those countries that have registered their interest to join the CPTPP in future,” he added.

The statement said details of the CPTPP agreement have been made public and are available on the ministry’s website.