Malaysia,Turkey FTA starts August 1

PETALING JAYA: The Malaysia-Turkey Free Trade Agreement (MTFTA), which is expected to facilitate the achievement of US$5 billion (RM19 billion) in total trade by 2020, will come into effect on Aug 1, according to Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.
Under the agreement, exporters from Malaysia and Turkey will be able to enjoy preferential access for their products in each other's countries, with the elimination of bind duties on 70% of the tariff lines.
"After a period of eight years, duties will be reduced or eliminated for almost 86% of tariff lines," Mustapa said in a statement yesterday.
"I urge the Malaysian business community to take full advantage of the opportunities offered under this FTA, which can also help strengthen trade and economic linkages on a long-term basis," he said, adding that Turkey holds vast market potential with a population of 74 million people.
For 2014, total trade amounted to US$969 million, of which Malaysia's exports to Turkey totaled US$752 million, while imports amounted to US$217 million.
Key exports to Turkey comprise textiles and clothing, chemicals and chemical products, palm oil, metal manufacturing, rubber products, electrical and electronic (E&E) products.
Meanwhile, imports from Turkey include textiles and clothing, machinery appliances and parts, iron and steel products, chemicals and chemical products, other agriculture produce and E&E products.
Mustapa said that Malaysian exports that will benefit from the immediate duty-free treatment in Turkey include selected textiles and apparel, E&E products, chemicals, iron and steel products, machinery, wood products, leather products as well as rubber products.
On other strategic products such as iron and steel, he said both counties will phase-out import duties in stages within an eight year period, starting from the day the agreement begins.
He said Turkey will also eliminate all existing additional duties (ranging from 20-30%) on textiles, apparel and footwear, which currently affect more than a thousand tariff lines.
For palm oil and palm products, Turkey has offered a one-off duty reduction of 30% from the current most-favoured-nation rate (0-46.8%).
"Reduction of duties on these products essentially mean that Malaysian palm oil and palm products are placed at a competitive advantage in the Turkish market, over similar products originating from other countries," he added.