Malaysia Eyes Bilateral FTAs with Canada, Chile and Peru

Malaysia is eyeing bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with countries such as Canada, Chile and Peru.

    Malaysia does not have any form of trade pacts with Canada, Chile and Peru, Malaysian Minister of International Trade and Industry Mustapa Mohamad told a press conference on the upcoming National Aerospace event in Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday, state news agency (Bernama) reported.

    The United States President-elect Donald Trump said he would not back the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP), which was ironically spearheaded by Washington.

    The TPP involves 12 countries, namely the US, Japan, Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore, Brunei, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Chile and Peru.

    Given the current scenario, Malaysia will now explore bilateral trade opportunities with Canada, Chile and Peru on the sidelines of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Summit in Lima, Peru, next week. "Those are the big markets for the country," said Mustapa. 

    He said at the Peru meeting, Malaysia would keep an open mind on what could be achieved, as there would be more clarity on the TPP's future.

    Earlier Tuesday, Mustapa had said that the TPP required the ratification of at least six countries, accounting for 85% of the total Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of the 12, to bring it into force.

    The GDP of the US alone constitutes about 60% of the total GDP of the TPP membership. Hence, there can be no TPP without the participation of the US, Mustapa said.