KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 24 — The federal government is the midst of amending 18 laws to meet the requirements of the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact that is scheduled to take effect from February 2018.
International Trade and Industry secretary-general Datuk J. Jayasiri said today the amendments were proceeding smoothly and will be presented to Parliament before the ratification process begins.
“We are on track for now and let’s hope everything goes on smoothly before it takes effect in 2018.
“We have to date conducted over 150 outreach programmes and the feedback has been good,” he told a news conference after speaking at The King’s Discourse on the TPP by King’s College London Alumni Malaysia and Columbia University Alumni Association held at Ritz Carlton hotel here.
Jayasiri was confident the TPP would take off despite recent speed bumps cast by US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Democrat Clinton has called for a reconsideration of the agreement while Republican Trump wants it scrapped.
“President Obama has many times said he will ensure the TPP is passed in the congress before his tenure ends so let’s not speculate,” Jayasiri said, referring to the incumbent US president, Barack Obama.
He added that the TPP will go on if six out of 12 countries accounting for 85 per cent of the trade bloc’s GDP ratify the agreement.
Malaysia signed the free trade pact with 11 other countries in February.
The TPP was agreed on the basis to strengthen economic collaboration by reducing or eliminating trade tariffs among these nations, which among other consist of the United States, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.
Critics are of the opinion that the TPP would bring more advantages to the bigger nation like the US than the smaller economy countries.
Some even claimed the TPP was a way for US to oversee the market of China through countries like Malaysia that currently has strong ties with its Chinese counterpart.
