Govt’s stand on TPPA will be known by May

KUALA LUMPUR: The government’s stand on the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will only be known by May this year, after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) meeting in Vietnam, International Trade and Industry Minister (Miti) Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said.
“Right now we are open to proposals and we haven’t made any decision yet. Probably by May we will make the decision (to ratify or reject the pact) when we meet our colleagues in Vietnam,” Mustapa told reporters after attending Miti and agencies networking session to celebrate Chinese New Year here yesterday.
“I’m certain by then we will have greater clarity on which way we will be moving,” he said.
In the meantime, Mustapa said some of the TPP Ministers are coming to Kuala Lumpur this month to share the latest developments on the agreement.
Asked about the Australian government’s decision to go ahead with the TPPA without the US, Mustapa said the government is open to the country’s decision.
“But as I said, it is going to be very time-consuming, as it involves a lot of renegotiation,” he added.
Commenting on US President Donald Trump’s protectionist trade policies, Mustapa said that trade protectionism would result in less access to overseas markets, declining trade and losses of trade income.
“US is our third biggest trading partner, accounting for more than 9% in our total trade last year. Therefore, we want American investments to grow in this country and we hope that the US market will be open to Malaysian products,” he added.
Earlier this year, Trump signed executive orders withdrawing the country from the TPP deal, which was negotiated by former US president Barack Obama between 12 countries, including Malaysia.
Trump, who has previously argued the free trade agreement would harm the US economy, said the withdrawal was a “great thing” for the country’s workers.