J. Jayasiri, Malaysia’s chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks, said Thursday, October 24, that the TPP agreement should be flexible, taking into account member countries’ domestic situations.
In a meeting with the delegation of the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives (JA) group to Malaysia, Jayasiri also said it would be unrealistic for the TPP members to try to strike a deal by the end of this year, considering that there still remain many difficulties in a number of fields.
Malaysia has been at odds with the United States in the TPP negotiations in such areas as intellectual property protection rules and competition policy, and Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak has said the deadline is not set in stone. Jayasiri’s remarks reemphasized Malaysia’s stand that resolving outstanding areas is more important than meeting the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Japanese government is eager to meet the target of concluding a deal by the end of the year, with the intention of keeping pace with the U.S. The JA group plans to strengthen its call on the government to avoid rushing toward conclusion without clear prospects that it can sufficiently protect national interests.
According to the officials of the Central Union of Agricultural Co-operatives (JA-Zenchu), JA-Zenchu vice president Mitsuo Murakami who headed the delegation explained in the meeting the group’s stance that the five key agricultural products should be exempted from tariff elimination. Other delegation members, including Katsuyoshi Yamanaka, head of JA-Zenchu’s committee on stock raising, asked about Malaysia’s concerns over the TPP pact.
Jayasiri was especially concerned about the outstanding issues on the area of intellectual property rights, stressing that Malaysia cannot accept what is currently on the negotiating table. All the countries have each of their issues of concern and negotiators will find out ways to deal with such issues, Jayasiri said, adding that flexibility is vital to a successful conclusion of the TPP negotiations.
Regarding the goal of reaching agreement by the year end, Jayasiri said there are still many remaining issues to be resolved and domestic arrangements to be made in each country. It is unrealistic to try to come to agreement by the end of this year and TPP members should not stick to the goal, he said.
Jayasiri noted that opposition towards the TPP pact is growing in Malaysia due to lack of information, adding that the Malaysian government is actively presenting opportunities to explain the ongoing discussion to the public and industrial organizations.
(Oct. 26, 2013)