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Mustapa: TPPA's benefits more than challenges

The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) will provide give benefits compared to its challenges, said International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

Mustapa said the government has analysed the full impact of the trade agreement and would continue to provide explanations to all levels of the society for the to gain deeper understanding.

"The ministry had conducted various dialogue sessions where I was involved in such engagements," he said in a RTM dialogue talk show entitled 'TPPA Enlightenment' today.

Mustapa stressed that the government would not make any hasty decisions.

"In any decision, the government would consider the advantages and disadvantages of any policy," he said.

He said the government had conducted two Cost-and-Benefit Analyses that were done by PwC Malaysia and the Institute of Strategic and International Studies Malaysia.

"Even though the government recognised there were costs that have to be borne, the benefits outweigh the costs," he said.

"It cannot be denied that there are several challenges that we have to face by participating in the TPPA, but the government recognises that as a whole, Malaysia can stand to benefit," he said.

He said if the country decided to be a party of the TPPA, there will also be a two-year ratification period following the signing.

As such, the coming into force of the TPPA was only expected to take place at the earliest in early 2018, he said.

The TPPA countries, namely Australia, the US, New Zealand, Canada, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Brunei, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and Malaysia account for almost 40 percent of the world’s gross domestic product and a third of global trade.

- Bernama

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