CPTPP impinges on national sovereignty

ONE hopes that the new government will postpone the enforcement of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Transpacific Partnership (CPTPP) until a thorough cost-benefit analysis is done and the findings presented to Parliament for debate.

Malaysia ratified the CPTPP on Sept 30, 2022, and entry was due to be enforced yesterday.

A postponement is necessary because the agreement impinges upon our national sovereignty as no other multilateral economic arrangement does.

It affects the ability of the Malaysian state and society to protect the well-being of its workers and people. If a dispute arises between a foreign enterprise operating in Malaysia and the Malaysian government over some issue pertaining to the safety of our workers, the matter would be referred to an international arbitration panel whose decision would be final. Our local courts would have no say.

It is also alleged that the implementation of the CPTPP will witness a sharp increase in the price of medicines. Imported medicines will be protected by much tighter intellectual property laws.

This will undoubtedly have a negative impact on our ability to provide affordable healthcare to the poorer sections of society.

The trade agreement will also have an adverse impact upon the farming community. Farmers who, for millennia, have developed new varieties and strains through their own effort and initiative will now have to purchase seeds from huge agro businesses.

This would not only weaken the position of the average farmer but also tighten the grip of cartels and monopolies over the already vulnerable farming sector.

For all these reasons, a large number of NGOS and other groups in Malaysia have come together to ask the government to postpone the enforcement of the CPTPP.

Initiated by Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), the campaign has so far garnered the support of 70 organisations representing the collective voice of thousands of concerned Malaysians.

Malaysia should not be under the illusion that if we are not part of the CPTPP, we will not be able to benefit from lower tariffs for goods and services.

Malaysia is already a member of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which brings together all 10 Asean nations and five other countries in the Asia-pacific region, namely China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

Formed on Jan 1, 2022, RCEP is the world’s largest free trade agreement, covering a third of the global population and accounting for about 30% of the planet’s GDP.

Malaysia has every reason to ensure that RCEP, which is an Asean initiative, succeeds.

Compared to the RCEP, it is crystal clear why the CPTPP is not in our best interests.