Kuala Lumpur [Malaysia], October 6: Malaysia has officially ratified the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Ministry of International Trade and Industry said on Wednesday.
The ratification comes after years of detailed deliberation, extensive consultations and careful assessment by the government, with the implementation of the agreement presenting huge benefits that outweigh any potential costs, the ministry said in a statement.
The CPTPP, which presently boasts 11 countries as its members, is currently growing to include more interested economies into the fold and has the potential to become a new rule book for future trade, it said.
"With the eventual inclusion of more economies, particularly the UK and PRC into the CPTPP, Malaysian exporters will gain wider and deeper market access opportunities," it added.
Among the benefits of the agreement cited by the ministry are trade-facilitative rules of origin (ROO) that are designed to support modern business practices and further promote deeper integration of Malaysian businesses into regional supply chains, it said.
"The agreement allows Malaysian manufacturers to source raw materials from all CPTPP countries for purposes of fulfilling the ROO requirements and consequently, qualifying for reduction and elimination of import duties," it said.
"As such, the CPTPP offers a more trade friendly approach vis-a-vis the ROO ecosystem, which in turn is expected to ease compliance by companies," it added.
CPTPP members include Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
"As a bloc that advances regional economic integration, the CPTPP is also a testament to the significance of the multilateral trading system," the statement said.
Source: Xinhua