TPPA in final stages of negotiations
NEGOTIATIONS on the TransPacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) are close to finalisation.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said there were still several details on a technical level that needed to be ironed out before Malaysia signs the deal.
“This includes the legal scrubbing and the finalisation of the related schedule,” he said in a written reply to a question by William Leong Jee Keen (PKR–Selayang), who wanted the ministry to state the status of the TPPA negotiations and when details of the agreement will be revealed to Parliament.
He also said the matter would be brought to Parliament in a session which is not yet decided.
Mustapa said Malaysia was so far satisfied with the result of the TPPA negotiations and that the country’s interests have been taken into consideration.
“On several matters, we have been able to defend our country’s policy,” he said, giving example on the bumiputra policy as well as in intellectual property rights.
He said Malaysia will gain priority market access, especially to the four new free trade access markets as soon as TPPA is in force.
“As an example, the import duty of almost 73% from textile product export to the US will be repealed immediately with TPPA,” he said.
Meanwhile, some 100 people, led by Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and several opposition MPs, gathered in front of the Parliament building to hand a memorandum to the government to voice their displeasure over the impending signing of the TPPA.