Malaysia Faces ASEAN Peer Pressure To Conclude EU FTA

By Azlee Nor Mahmud BANTING (Selangor, Malaysia) May 17 (Bernama) -- The conclusion of the European Union (EU) Free Trade Agreement (FTA) by ASEAN member nations, Singapore and Vietnam, has put a sense of urgency for Malaysia to finalise the agreement as well, said the Ministry of International Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI). Second Minister, Ong Ka Chuan, said the proposed FTA did not have a timeline, however, Malaysia was facing challenges from its ASEAN peers to conclude the trade pact. Singapore and Vietnam had concluded their EU FTAs while Indonesia was in the midst of negotiations, he said. “We are facing challenges from our neighbouring countries and we don’t want to lose out to our ASEAN member countries, so it is a pressing matter that we need to conclude (the FTA) as soon as possible,” he told reporters at launch of Linde Malaysia Sdn Bhd’s plant here Tuesday. “We currently have eight rounds of negotiations, (on matters regarding) trading goods and other challenging areas are covered, except for others such as standards and in regards to intellectual property. We foresee that we can get through this and overcome it,” said Ong. He said most issues including major issues were already covered and Malaysia was waiting for a suitable time for both leaders from Malaysia and the EU to have final a negotiation before the FTA could be concluded. “We need to have patience, for it to materialise,” said Ong, adding that an FTA would benefit both regions as goods would be zero-rated while manufacturing investments would be able to move freely between the two regions. -- BERNAMA