The presidential election in the United States next year could affect the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) talks, but Malaysia’s bigger concern is convincing the people that the free trade deal is good for the country.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said he remained hopeful that TPP, a proposed free trade agreement involving 12 countries including Malaysia, could be concluded.

However, it has been widely reported that with the United States now in presidential election mode, worries about whether Americans would really benefit from the deal could delay or derail the TPP negotiations.

“I shared with the US Trade Representative our concerns and views about the TPP, but we are quite oblivious to their domestic politics.

“Of bigger concern to us are challenges we are facing in terms of convincing our own people,” Mustapa said in response to whether the US presidential election could impact the talks.

The last round of TPP ministerial talks in Hawaii late last month fell just short of a deal but several of the ministers reportedly expressed confidence that a final agreement was within reach.

If concluded, the TPP would create a free trade bloc stretching from Japan to Chile, covering 40% of the world economy.

Apart from Malaysia and the United States, other countries in the TPP talks are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

Speaking to the media after a bilateral meeting with US Trade Representative Michael Froman, Mustapa said he conveyed to Froman the challenges Malaysia was facing with regards to the TPP.

“We are facing issues on a few fronts, such as concerns by bumiputra businesses, state-owned enterprises and on labour.

“We updated him on the situation on these issues and he in turn updated us on the overall situation of the TPP negotiations with the other countries,” said Mustapa.

Froman in a later media roundtable with selected Malaysian outlets including The Star,said there were still a handful of issues that had yet to be settled in the TPP talks.

The top US trade negotiator said that while the Hawaii meeting was productive, several ministers needed to consult with their governments and other stakeholders.

“That kind of work is under way, so in the meantime we are working bilaterally with several countries, in small groups, and taking advantage of opportunities like this Asean meeting to further our discussions.

“We are looking forward to continuing work on the remaining issues and bringing this to a close as soon as possible,” Froman said.

Source: The Star Malaysia

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