Minister of International Trade and Industry, YB Dato’ Sri Mustapa Mohamed attended the 26th APEC Ministerial Meeting held in Beijing today.  Ministers discussed APEC’s achievements in the past 25 years, including the challenges and opportunities for regional economic cooperation in the coming years. Minister Mustapa expressed Malaysia’s support for China’s initiatives to advance the process to undertake concrete actions towards the realisation of the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) in a comprehensive and systematic manner.  In Qingdao earlier in May, Trade Ministers agreed that APEC would remain as a non-binding, voluntary forum and provide intellectual inputs into the FTAAP process.  They also agreed that FTAAP when agreed, will be pursued outside of APEC. FTAAP is envisaged to be a comprehensive FTA that is built on existing and on-going FTAs in the region such as the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic...

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 (Bernama) — The government is expected to conclude its final Cost-Benefit Analysis (CBA) regarding the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) by the end of June this year, says International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed. He said a few outstanding issues need to be resolved and talks on the proposed regulatory and investment treaty are still ongoing to ensure it is in Malaysia’s favour. “We are going to execute the final CBA study in the near term, collaborating with an international firm, on whether the TPPA is beneficial for the country or otherwise,” he told reporters after the ministry’s session with Heads of Foreign Missions here today. He said the CBA revolves around four issues, starting with the TPPA’s impact on the nation, including the country’s sovereignty and whether it would affect the weightage in delivering the government’s policies. The second is the TPPA’s impact on small and medium enterprises...