Malaysia-US FTA Talks to Go on Despite Expiry of TPA

The expiry of the US Trade Promotion Authority (TPA) in June this year does not hinder the free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations between Malaysia and United States, said Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Ng Lip Yong.

He said that Malaysia was of the view that any decision on the FTA should be based on the interests of the nation and not bound by the TPA time frame or the US’ domestic political developments.

Ng added that once the FTA negotiations were finalised, the official approval on the negotiated outcome would be left to the Malaysian and US governments to seal through their respective domestic processes.

The deputy minister said since the FTA negotiations were comprehensive and undertaken via 19 working groups from the various ministries and agencies, the issues discussed would need to deliberated in a detailed manner without pressure from any quarters.

Ng reiterated that the government viewed certain matters to be non-negotiable in the FTA, and this included policy and regulations of the National Mission, as well as the country’s sovereignty.

The sixth round of meeting between the two countries were held from April 18 to 19 in Washington DC.

“The government has also decided that unofficial negotiations (between both countries) would continue through video conferencing and email for the purpose of clarifying technical issues,” Ng said.

Meanwhile, International Trade and Ministry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said there had been positive returns from the government’s investment promotions abroad.

 

 

 

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