KUALA LUMPUR: The Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Tran-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) will come into force 60 days after six of the 11 participating countries ratify it, says Ministry of International Trade and Industry Secretary-General, Datuk Seri J. Jayasiri.
He said theY must also have a combined gross domestic product of at least 50 per cent of the total signatories.
“The CPTPP does not set any timeline for signatory countries to ratify it, but we are trying to do so as soon as possible,” he told reporters on the sidelines of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers Seminar on the CPTPP yesterday.
He said for Malaysia to ratify the agreement, it needed to amend 18 more Acts related to labour, intellectual property and customs procedures, among others.
Jayasiri said most of the amendments had been done and would be reviewed by the Attorney-General before being tabled in Parliament.
Last month, the 11 countries – Malaysia, Japan, Singapore, Vietnam, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Brunei, Mexico, Chile and Peru – signed the pact with improved conditions.
The 11 were the original participants of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP).
US President Donald Trump had withdrew the US from the TPP in January last year, but had reportedly said he would reconsider the decision if the US could strike a substantially better agreement.
Jayasiri, who is also Malaysia’s Chief Negotiator for the CPTPP, was downbeat on the possibility of the US joining the mega trade pact, as the agreement had suspended 22 provisions favoured by the US in the TPP.
“These provisions, which included those on intellectual property and pharmaceutical, were important to them,” he said.
Nevertheless, he said, the CPTPP offered tremendous possibilities – more than just tariff reductions to participating countries.
He said the agreement would enhance governance in a number of economic sectors and promote adoption of international standards.
“It will also strengthen economic cooperation and capacity building among member countries,” he said.
He said the agreement opened up opportunities for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to provide goods for global supply chain and to get involved in domestic supporting services.
He said SMEs would also continue to enjoy preferential treatment in government procurement and purchases by state-owned enterprises.
Meanwhile, on the possibility of other countries joining the CPTPP, he said, the pact would welcome any country if they could comply with its high standards and regulations.
“The CPTPP is an open and inclusive agreement for any like-minded partners able to meet its standards,” he said.
However, he said, any negotiations for the accession of other countries into the agreement could only be done after the CPTPP has been ratified.
He said at least five countries – South Korea, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines and Columbia – had expressed interests to join the pact. The 11-member countries of the CPTPP accounted for 13.5 per cent, or US$10.2 trillion (US$1 = RM3.86), of the world’s gross domestic product and 6.8 per cent, or 495 million, of the global population. — Bernama