KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia has officially signed its first bilateral trade agreement with the United Kingdom (UK) through the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), which will grant it duty-free access for 94 per cent of UK tariff lines by year-end.
According to the Minister of Investment, Trade and Industry, (Miti) through the notification, Malaysia joins six countries who have completed the required in-country ratification process namely, Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam and Peru.
"The Agreement is expected to enter into force by end-2024 for the UK and all parties that have ratified it."This is a significant milestone as it is effectively Malaysia's first bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the UK."
Once the CPTPP takes effect for the UK, 94 per cent of tariff lines will grant Malaysian exports immediate duty-free access, benefiting key sectors such as palm oil, cocoa, rubber, E&E products, chemicals, as well as machinery and equipment.
"With the UK's entry, the CPTPP will also have a combined gross domestic product (GDP) value of US$15.4 trillion, or 15 pe rcent of global GDP," it said.
Its minister Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz said as Malaysia's inaugural bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the UK, the country is optimistic about improved access for Malaysian exports to the UK, which had an economy exceeding US$4 trillion in 2023.
"Malaysia's membership of the CPTPP, the gold standard for trade agreements, has also significantly boosted our competitiveness, fostered investors' confidence and cultivated our exporters' deeper integration into the global supply chain," he said in a statement.
The CPTPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile,Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.