The Malaysian Insight

PUTRAJAYA is still going with its plans to amend 18 laws that are related to Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), even if the trade pact fails to materialise, said a minister today.

International Trade and Industry Minister II Ong Ka Chuan said the final decision to withdraw from TPPA would also depend on the consensus of the remaining countries, after the United States decided to abandon it.

“There are 18 laws that we will still bring to Parliament for amendments. This is not only for TPPA, because this will be the best time for us to follow world standards.

“And even if the TPPA fails, the amended laws will be updated for any future negotiations that we will participate in. So we will be ready,” he told Dewan Rakyat today while debating Budget 2018.

Earlier, Kelana Jaya MP Wong Chen asked Putrajaya’s stand on TPPA and whether the government still sought to amend the 18 identified laws.

“The amendments include the labour chapter, we are going on with that. We will bring 18 laws to be amended,” he said, referring to the Labour Consistency Plan (LCP), that is part of the TPPA.

The LCP is to reform and improve local labour laws so that they complied with TPPA Standards.

He also reiterated the government’s stand on TPPA, saying the country would pursue the trade agreement as long as the other 11 countries wanted to continue with it.

“If the other 11 countries have the determination to continue without the US, we will follow suit. If the others don’t want to, then we will not pursue it. We follow the consensus of the 11 countries,” he said.

The TPPA was to be the biggest trade agreement in history involving Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, the United States and Vietnam.

It was signed on February 4, 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, concluding seven years of negotiations.

However, on January 23, US President-elect Donald Trump signed an executive order to withdraw from the trade pact. But the other 11 countries agreed in May to revive the deal without US participation.

In August, International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed had said the remaining 11 countries in the TPPA were still interested in pursuing the pact without the US. – November 9, 2017.