Malaysia Is First RCEP Country To Establish Business Advisory Council Network
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysia has become the first Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) participating country to establish a national RCEP Business Advisory Council (RBAC) Network.
The network is intended to strengthen direct business engagement with relevant Malaysian authorities and provide a clear channel for private-sector views to be brought into the wider RCEP process, the East Asia Business Council (EABC) Malaysia Chapter said in a statement today.
EABC chairman Dr Soh Thian Lai said the network will serve as a structured national platform for businesses to raise practical implementation issues, share experiences and forward recommendations on how RCEP can work better for companies.
He said despite the RCEP’s wide coverage, actual business utilisation of the agreement remains below its potential.
Citing the EABC-JETRO Business Outlook Survey, he said 60.3 per cent of companies were aware of RCEP, but utilisation remained below 20 per cent.
“Among companies not using the Agreement, 48.1 per cent cited uncertainty over procedures, requirements and practical implementation as a major challenge,” he said.
Soh, who is also the RBAC Malaysia Network chairman, said the network’s key role is to bridge the gap between the provisions negotiated under RCEP and the practical experience of businesses using the agreement.
“Issues raised by companies can be taken up with the Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) and the relevant implementing agencies in Malaysia and, through RBAC, channelled to regional platforms including the RCEP Joint Committee and engagement with RCEP Economic Ministers.
“The network will focus on practical areas such as rules of origin, customs procedures, preferential tariff claims, certificates of origin, non-tariff measures, services market access, investment barriers, digital trade and other operational issues faced by companies across RCEP markets,” he added.
He said the inaugural roundtable on Aug 19 2026 identified several areas for improvement. This includes simplifying rules of origin, accelerating digitalisation of certificates of origin, strengthening small and medium enterprise outreach and improving the availability of consistent RCEP utilisation data.
A practical issue raised was the need for wider acceptance of PDF versions of certificates of origin across all 15 RCEP economies, he said.
“Mutual recognition of electronic documentation will make it easier and less costly for businesses to use RCEP preferences,” he said.
He said the network will also support proposals to expand the ASEAN Tariff Finder to cover all 15 RCEP economies, allowing businesses to compare preferential tariffs and applicable rules of origin across the region more easily.
“The RCEP General Review in 2027 provides an important opportunity to address implementation gaps and consider improvements to make the agreement more practical, business-friendly and responsive to changing trade, investment and supply-chain needs.
“The RBAC Malaysia Network will consolidate business feedback ahead of the review so that Malaysia’s private-sector recommendations are grounded in actual company experience,” he said.
RCEP, the world’s largest free trade agreement, comprises 15 economies across ASEAN, China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. Collectively, they account for about 30 per cent of global output and a market of more than two billion people.
The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturing serves as the secretariat to the RBAC Malaysia Network in its capacity as secretariat to the EABC Malaysia Chapter.
-- BERNAMA
