The Malaysian Consortium of Mid-Tier Companies (MCMTC) welcomes the ratification of the long-awaited Comprehensive & Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP). It was announced by Datuk Seri Mohamad Azmin Ali, the Senior Minister for International Trade and Industry, to take effect from November 29th, 2022.
Trade is the growth catalyst for the Malaysian economy. We are a relatively small country in terms of population and land area but in terms of trade, we are ranked no. 25 in the World (Source: World Trade Organization, 2021).
We are an integral part of the global supply chain. In the 1990’s, Malaysia’s total trade stood at USD58.71 billion and in 2021, total trade stood at USD425.34 billion. (Source: Dept of Statistics Malaysia.)
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) Malaysia has put in a lot of effort to study the CPTPP and has also published their findings in a comprehensive Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) a few months back. It was clearly shown that the CPTTP will not only open up new markets for Malaysia in terms of trade but it will also bring about technical assistance and technology / know-how transfer which is critical for capacity building for our local businesses.
For instance, Canada is well-known for its strengths in high-tech, clean energy and waste treatment and has already indicated its intention to extend collaboration with ASEAN markets via Vietnam who signed the CPTPP in March 20181. CarbonCure Technologies (which uses technology to convert polluters’ carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions into an environmentally friendly strengthening agent for concrete, has already signed its first overseas licensing projects (3 projects) in Singapore in 20192.
If anyone needs success stories in order to be convinced, look at Vietnam. Officially effective only in Jan 2019, Vietnam-Canada bilateral trade in 2020 reached USD8.9million, up 12% from 2019 and 37% from 2018 4. It has also been reported in various media that Vietnam is now Canada’s largest trade partner in ASEAN while Canada is among Vietnam’s large investors3. Vietnam has become the springboard for Canada into the ASEAN market via the CPTPP. Could we perhaps have a bigger share of the pie if we had ratified earlier?
The MCMTC appreciates the relentless efforts of MITI and MATRADE in promoting trade for Malaysia and we look forward to working closely with our Ministries towards sustainable growth in Malaysia.
