PARLIAMENT The government hopes to improve Malaysia's ranking in the Human Trafficking Report of the State Department of the United States, from Tier 3 to Tier 2, with amendments to the Anti-Trafficking in Persons and Anti-Smuggling of Migrants Act.

A bill to amend this Act is part of the government’s 11th Malaysia Plan, and will be presented for its second reading in Parliament today.

If the country acted well to curb human trafficking, International Trade and Industries Minister Mustapa Mohamed told the Dewan Rakyat today, "Insyallah we will move up to Tier 2, or even Tier 1 one day."

Mustapa ( photo ) said this in response to an additional question from Mohd Nizar Zakaria (BN-Parit) on how the Tier 3 ranking would affect negotiations for the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA).

"Being in Tier 3 makes things difficult, because in the US Senate, a senator has proposed that Tier 3 countries not be included in the TPPA negotiations," Mustapa said.

On a related note, a cost-benefit analysis of the TPPA is expected to be completed by the end of July.

Many areas of TPPA still being negotiated

Mustapa said only non-controversial aspects of the agreement have been agreed on, but many more are still being negotiated.

This includes sensitive matters such as advancement of bumiputeras, intellectual properties, and pharmaceuticals.

On May 21, President Barack Obama moved closer to winning the power to speed trade deals through the US Congress, after the US Senate advanced legislation important to Obama’s Asian trade push.

Senators voted 62-38 to set up a speedy decision on the ‘fast-track’ trade negotiating authority the president needs to complete the TPPA trade deal.

The TPPA is part of Obama’s so-called pivot to Asia, a strategy to counter China’s rising economic and diplomatic clout in Asia.

Obama ( photo ) called the vote “a big step forward”, adding that his trade agenda dovetails with the “strong labour standards, strong environmental standards” that his fellow Democrats in Congress are demanding.

However, trade unions and consumer groups in Malaysia are fearful of the TPPA, saying it would bring dire consequences, with US corporations, from consumer product manufacturers to pharmaceuticals as well, dominating signature countries.

This has become even more serious because major countries in this region - China, India and Indonesia with a total population of more than 2.5 billion people - are not involved in the TPPA process.

Another expressed fear is the ‘certification’ process under the TPPA, which will provide the US president with huge powers to squeeze more concessions from partner countries, even after the free trade deal is signed.