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Upon entry into force of the CPTPP for the UK, Malaysian exports will immediately benefit from duty-free treatment on 94% of tariff lines.
Malaysia has formally notified ratification to the Accession Protocol of the United Kingdom (UK) to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as of 17 September 2024.
It joins six other parties who have completed the required in-country ratification process — namely, Japan, Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, Vietnam and Peru.
Prior to this, the UK had signed the accession protocol to the CPTPP on 16 July 2023. The Agreement is expected to enter into force by end-2024 for the UK and all parties that have ratified it.
This agreement is said to mark a significant milestone, effectively serving as Malaysia’s first bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the UK. Upon entry into force of the CPTPP for the UK, Malaysian exports will immediately benefit from duty-free treatment on 94% of tariff lines particularly on palm oil, cocoa, rubber, E&E, chemicals, as well as machinery and equipment.
With the UK’s entry, the CPTPP will represent a combined GDP value of USD15.4tn, or 15% of global GDP.
Malaysia's Minister of Investment, Trade & Industry, Tengku Datuk Seri Utama Zafrul Aziz remarked: “We are pleased to welcome to the UK into the CPTPP ‘family’. As Malaysia’s first bilateral Free Trade Agreement with the UK, we are confident of better access for Malaysian exports to the UK, whose economy breached USD4tn 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. "
The full list of CPTPP members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
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