With the formal announcement of the withdrawal of the U.S. from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), Malaysia said it will shift its attention to furthering the economic integration of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and promoting the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
“Our focus would be to enhance the economic integration of ASEAN in the context of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025, push for the timely conclusion of the RCEP, as well as pursue bilateral FTAs including with TPPA members whom we currently do not have any preferential trading arrangement,” Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said in a statement released January 24.
Mustapa added that Malaysia was not surprised with U.S. President Donald Trump’s official announcement to withdraw from the TPPA, saying that Malaysia will continue to engage with the new administration to strengthen bilateral and economic relations.
He said Malaysia will, however, continue to monitor closely developments regarding U.S. trade policies.
Trump signed the executive order on January 23 withdrawing the U.S. from the TPPA. His contention was that the TPPA would cause job losses in the U.S. and the outflow of funds to other TPPA countries.
But Mustapa contended that “in our view TPPA is a balanced agreement beneficial to all of its members. The US will also benefit from better market access to countries which they do not have FTA with such as Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia.”
He also said Trump’s action was not totally surprising as he had many times in the past vowed to withdraw the U.S. from the TPPA, referring to the deal as a “potential disaster” for the American economy.
“Notwithstanding the current position of the new US administration on TPPA, we will continue to engage with our American colleagues to strengthen bilateral trade and economic relations, given the US’ importance as our third largest trading partner and a major source of investments,” he added.
He said TPPA chief negotiators from the other 11 countries will also be in constant communication with each other to consider all available options before deciding the best way forward. “They have been working closely in the last five years and will continue to communicate with each other.”
The TPPA was signed by 12 country members on February 4, 2016. The pact cannot come into force without the U.S. participation, as it accounts for about 60% of the combined gross domestic product of the 12 members.
Aside from the U.S. and Malaysia, the other signatories were Australia, Brunei, Chile, Canada, New Zealand, Japan, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Photo: JaseMan
