This article first appeared in The Edge Financial Daily on July 19, 2017

SUBANG JAYA: Talks on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement are proceeding and a decision could be made during the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) summit in November, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed.

“In November, there is an Apec meeting in Manila. We will be meeting leaders and ministers dealing with the TPP agreement and [there] may be a decision then,” he told reporters after officiating at the Asian Strategy & Leadership Institute National Economic Summit yesterday.

Mustapa said Malaysia remains open to changes to the TPP agreement mooted by other participating countries.

“My ministry and the Malaysian team fought hard for [a] fair deal in the best interest of Malaysia while also adhering to the principles of fair and open trade,” he said.

The TPP agreement was signed by 12 nations, including Malaysia, on Feb 4, 2016.

“[But] with the withdrawal by US President Donald Trump’s administration, the other [11] signatories are now looking at options to bring the agreement into force.”

He said negotiators from the 11 countries met in Hakone, Japan last week to finalise the options.

The minister said Malaysia is currently focusing on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), which could be finalised early next year.

RCEP is a trade deal being negotiated among 16 countries including Australia, China, India, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and Asean nations.

Mustapa said to date, the participating countries have met a number of times and the next meeting will be in Hyderabad, India next week.

“Some progress towards achieving substantial conclusion has been made and this will be further discussed at the next meeting.”

Mustapa has also said Malaysia’s first-quarter economic growth of 5.6%, against 4.2% a year earlier, is “very good”.

“In a couple of weeks, [the] growth number for [the second quarter] will be out. The outlook for 2017 has been quite positive on the back of good trade and investment numbers.”

However, he added that despite the positive buzz, one should not forget about the challenges involved.

“The challenges include tackling the increasing unemployment rate among youths, currently at 10%, as well as volatility in the commodities sector,” he said.

On the resolution by the European Parliament for the European Union (EU) to curb imports of palm oil, Mustapa said it is unfair and goes against global trade rules.

Malaysia and Indonesia plan to file a complaint to the World Trade Organization (WTO).

“We cannot lodge a joint complaint to WTO now. Malaysia and Indonesia will only have the right to do so if and when the resolution to discriminate against palm oil becomes the EU’s official policy.”

Mustapa said the cabinet had deliberated on the issue a few times and discussed some retaliatory measures, including cancelling the purchase of French products like fighter jets and cars.

“But we have not reached that stage yet and we are not there yet. We still have Peugeot in Malaysia.”