In case the US Congress doesn’t ratify the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) by the February 2018 deadline, Malaysia is taking no chances and has started taking precautionary measures. Its Parliament is on track to ratify the TPPA by amending specific laws. This is because both the US presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump have voiced concerns about the pact that would encompass about 40 per cent of the world’s GDPs. The four new preferential markets for Malaysia through the multilateral FTA are the US, Peru, Canada and Mexico.

However, many feel nay-saying is just populist campaign to appease Americans worried about losing jobs to Asian imports and Clinton would finish the pact that President Barack Obama has given his nod. The US-led deal cuts import tariffs while raising bars on labour conditions, environmental protection and intellectual property rights.

The International Trade and Industry Ministry Secretary-General J Jayasiri feels, the TPPA will come into effect as long as six countries accounting for 85 per cent of the bloc’s GDP ratify the agreement. All 12 countries in the TPPA have 24 months to ratify the agreement which was signed in February in New Zealand. The 12 countries that negotiated the TPPA included Malaysia. The agreement will come into force 60 days after that. Should the TPPA fall through, Malaysia would find ways to engage with the four countries in the bloc with which Malaysia does not have an existing free trade agreement (FTA), Jayasiri said.