KUALA LUMPUR: The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) is in the process of finalising the cost-benefit analysis (CBA) documents for the ratification of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Miti senior director of the strategic negotiations division and chief negotiator for the CPTPP Arividya Arimuthu said the documents are expected to be finalised in the coming weeks.
“Rest assured that once the CBA on the CPTPP has been finalised, Miti will make it available to the public,“ she told Bernama.
The CPTPP is a free trade agreement (FTA) that confers preferential treatment to its members with 11 countries that have signed the agreement including Malaysia. However, Malaysia has yet to ratify the trade deal.
Malaysia remains a signatory country, along with Brunei and Chile, but does not enjoy preferential tariff rates offered in the agreement.
The agreement has entered into force in Australia, Canada, Japan, New Zealand, Mexico, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
Until the ratification process is fulfilled, Malaysia is accorded observer status and does not have any right to block any decision made with regard to enforcement of the agreement.
The CPTPP covers virtually all aspects of trade including e-commerce, state-owned enterprises, and additional disciplines on intellectual property rights, as well as technical barriers to trade. – Bernama