KUALA LUMPUR, March 10 — A comprehensive assessment, including a cost-benefit analysis of the Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART), is underway to ensure that any decision is based on national interests and complies with Malaysia’s commitments, obligations, and policy space.
The Investment, Trade, and Industry Ministry (MITI) said the study’s findings will be presented to the Cabinet for discussion and consideration before any further action is taken.
“At present, the government, through MITI, is reviewing the scope and implications of the United States’ measures comprehensively, particularly in terms of their impact on market access, trade costs and the country’s supply chains,” it said in a reply posted on the Parliament’s website today.
MITI was responding to Senator Musoddak Ahmad's query on the government’s assessment of the implications of commitments to adopt United States standards and to secure market access for local industries on their competitiveness.
It added that the ART, signed on October 26 last year, has not yet entered into force, and any commitments related to the adoption of standards and market access remain subject to existing domestic processes and regulations.
