The Japan Times reported today that Japan’s foreign affairs and trade officials met with their Malaysian counterparts yesterday for over three hours to gather input on the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) initiative led by the US government.
The English-language daily also reported that International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed said Malaysia welcomes Japan’s participation in the TPP process.
It reported that Singapore’s trade and industry ministry representative met their Japanese counterparts to discuss the “high ambitions” of the TPP and the “importance of new members contributing positively to the negotiation process”.
However, trade observers have criticised the TPP proposals for being excessively restrictive, providing intellectual property restraints beyond those in the Korea-US Free Trade Agreement and Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement.
Brunei, Chile, New Zealand and Singapore are the original signatories, while Malaysia, Australia, Peru, the United States and Vietnam are negotiating.
