Kuala Lumpur,15 January 2019- IDEAS has called for rapid ratification of CPTPP. Presenting at a public workshop, Laurence Todd, Director of Research and Development at IDEAS argued that CPTPP will bring benefits that merit ratification. This is now further strengthened by the fact that the deal is now in force in six countries – and from today in Vietnam, opening up the risk that new trade and investment opportunities are directed to Vietnam. More broadly, Laurence argued that some opponents of CPTPP want to retain pursue state-led, protectionist policies which are not in Malaysia’s long-term interest. Ratification of CPTPP would, therefore, send an important signal about Malaysia’s ongoing openness to trade and investment.
IDEAS views on the issue of CPTPP were provided in an IDEAS Brief, entitled “CPTPP: The Case for Ratification” and presentation given at an IDEAS workshop. The main points are that:
Speaking at the workshop Ali Salman, CEO at IDEAS said that: “The benefits of CPTPP are significant and the deal should be ratified on that basis alone. There are legitimate concerns but they are addressed by the various exceptions included in the agreement. More important though is that the government demonstrates it is committed to a coherent economic strategy based on trade, investment and entrepreneurship, rather than the old model of patronage and preferences. Ratification of CPTPP would put the government on the right path.”
*The paper can be downloaded here