Malaysian business circle urges gov’t to expedite ratification of RCEP, CPTPP
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) has urged the government of Malaysia to expedite the ratification process for the two major free trade agreements (FTAs) — the Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — soon to help local manufacturers or exporters to recover faster during the post-pandemic era.
Kuala Lumpur (VNA) - The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM)has urged the government of Malaysia to expedite the ratification process forthe two major free trade agreements (FTAs) — the Regional ComprehensivePartnership Agreement (RCEP) and Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement forTrans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) — soon to help local manufacturers orexporters to recover faster during the post-pandemic era.
FMM President Tan Sri Soh Thian Lai said in a statement on April 16 that thetwo FTAs will enable local manufacturers to benefit from the diversification ofimport sources of industrial inputs and components.
According to Soh, the CPTPP eliminates tariffs on nearly 96percent of products entering the intra-regional trade and the RCEP will likely cover90 percent of these products. For Malaysia, the two FTAs will complement eachother.
He held that the further integration of regional economies under RCEP andCPTPP, in addition to providing Malaysian exporters with preferential access togrowing markets across the Asia Pacific, allows for increase in imports of rawmaterials and natural-resource-based materials from Latin America and Canada.
According to him, the two FTAs will help reduce costs and time for companies byallowing them to both import and export products anywhere within the East Asiaregion without meeting the separate requirements for each country.
He said the FMM commends the Ministry of International Trade and Industry(MITI) on its commitment to complete domestic procedures for the ratificationof RCEP by the first quarter of 2022.
However, the FMM called on the government to hasten theratification process for RCEP to be implemented by this year to benefitbusinesses in this time of need as it is imperative to stabilise manufacturingactivities and rebuild supply chain connectivity in the region./.
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Illustrative image (Photo: theedgemarkets.com) 
