Govt Will Not Give Up On TPP - Minister Mustapa

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 10 (Bernama) -- The government will not give up discussing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) despite the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (RCEP) showing progress. International Trade and Industry Minister (MITI) Mustapa Mohamed said the TPP is still relevant to the country and discussions are actually moving in tandem with the RCEP. "We have spent a lot of time and invested a lot of money in the TPP and also reached a final agreement (for the pact) before it was abandoned. "We are still looking at alternatives and discussing with other TPP countries on the agreement. There will be a meeting to be hosted by Australia regarding this matter next month," he told reporters after his keynote address at the Third SME Export Day here, Wednesday. The TPP was to have been 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 Feb 4, 2016 in Auckland, New Zealand, concluding seven years of negotiations. However, on Jan 23 this year, US President-elect Donald Trump signed a presidential memorandum to withdraw from the trade pact. But, the other 11 TPP countries agreed in May to revive the deal without US participation. Meanwhile, Mustapa said Malaysia is still engaging the US on a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) as the country remains an important business partners. "The United States is the biggest economy in the world. They are our third largest trading partner and Malaysia's biggest electrical and electronics products export destination," he added. Meanwhile, the one-day event brought together over 1,500 Malaysian small and medium enterprises (SMEs) to share insights on how to penetrate and export their products and services to the ASEAN market. Co-organised by MITI, PanPages Bhd and the Malaysia External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE), the event, a key activity of the ASEAN Day celebration, was aimed at enhancing SME's knowledge and interest in exporting, particularly to the regional grouping. -- BERNAMA