KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 ― Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed must demand the removal of the “certification” process from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) when they meet with US Trade Representative Michael Froman today, Klang MP Charles Santiago said.

According to the DAP MP, allowing certification will grant huge powers to the US president to squeeze more concessions from partner countries even after a free trade deal is signed, including drafting new laws in the countries themselves.

“In short, the US unilaterally decides what a country’s obligations are and if they are being met,” Santiago said in a statement.

“This allows the US a leverage of bargaining power, where it can place demands on partner countries to amend existing laws and regulations before the signed free trade deal can be effectively implemented,” the federal lawmaker added.

Certification refers to a process newly introduced in the TPPA, that requires US to certify that it is satisfied with the implementation of the free trade agreement (FTA) in a particular country.

Even after the FTA has been signed, it will not come into force if the US is not satisfied and does not certify a certain country.

Santiago listed down several areas reportedly targeted by the US in the certification process, including halal requirements, financial regulations, requirements for Malaysian content on radio and television, and level of intellectual property protection.

The MP warned that the Deputy US Trade Representative had went to Peru in 2008 to finalise 35 new laws required by the US, in addition to sending two teams of US government lawyers to assist Peru drafting environmental and business laws.

Responding to a question on certification in a forum today, Froman explained that the process is not new, and it has always been the obligation of Washington to the US Congress to certify countries which enter into FTA with it.

“It’s not necessarily a unilateral process,” Froman said, adding that South Korea had also run certification on the US, just as the US did so to the former.

“We’re certainly not averse to other countries certifying each other. It’s not about intervening in the domestic process of another country,” he added.

The TPPA is a free trade agreement that has been negotiated by the US, Malaysia and nine other nations as part of the larger Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership since 2010.