1. Malaysia and the United States have formally concluded negotiations regarding certification of locally made radio frequency equipment exported to the United States, through the signing of the letters of exchange on 28 June 2016 by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR)  on the adoption and implementation of the APEC TEL MRA.

2. Malaysia is the third country in ASEAN, after Singapore and Viet Nam, to adopt the Conformity Assessment of Telecommunication Equipment, Phase 1 (APEC TEL MRA), International Trade and Industry Minister YB Dato' Sri Mustapa Mohamed said.

3. "The conclusion of these negotiations is vital to facilitate exports of Malaysia’s telecommunications equipment to the United States market. The Government is committed to ensure that exports of our radio frequency equipment to the US, valued at RM11.4 million in 2015 and accounted for 22.7% or RM41.1 billion of global exports in the same year, are not disrupted by the new ruling in the US," YB Dato' Sri Mustapa said.

4. This initiative is pursuant to a new ruling introduced by the United States Federal Communications Commission (US FCC) whereby labs and telecommunication-certified bodies outside the United States must be accredited and designated by the USFCC under the terms of an MRA. The ruling came into force on July 13, 2015, with an original one-year grace period until 13 July 2016. However, on 21 June 2016, the United States decided to extend the grace period by another year to 13 July 2017 to give industries more time to adjust and to avoid any potential disruption of the distribution and sale of radio frequency equipment.

5. YB Dato' Sri Mustapa urged local labs that are currently listed with the US FCC to contact MCMC and Standards Malaysia to apply for the Accreditation Process for Testing Laboratory under the MRA. 

July 2016