He said that the unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is fully committed to taking part in the free trade pact, reflected through his signing of all necessary administrative agreements to ensure exports and imports can continue under the ratified 11-member deal, which came into effect in Malaysia on November 29, 2022.
The other signatories are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.
On October 5, 2022, Malaysia became the ninth member to ratify the trade deal.
In a statement released on December 22, the ministry said that Malaysia will benefit from preferential duty rates for goods that are exported to and imported from the eight CPTPP member countries that have implemented the agreement, including Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, and Vietnam.
It also pointed out preferential duty rates that take effect immediately including full duty-free treatment to all Malaysian exports entering Singapore and Australia; duty-free treatment of 96% of Malaysian exports and tariff lines to New Zealand presently, which is set to increase to 100% by 2024.
Ruling party in Singapore ready for general election
The ruling People’s Action Party (PAP) in Singapore announced on December 4 its new Central Executive Committee (CEC), officially electing Prime Minister Lawrence Wong as the party’s Secretary-General.