APEC - Mexico and Canada show interest in trans-Pacific trade pact

HONOLULU: The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) gained momentum when Mexico and Canada expressed their interest to join the pact.

Their interest to join the new free trade deal was made known after Japan officially announced its decision yesterday of its interest to join the TPP just as United States President Barack Obama is hosting eight other TPP leaders, including Malaysia, in Hawaii today.

International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mo-hamed said he received a letter from Mexico expressing its interest to join the pact, which many see as a vehicle for fostering free trade when global talks have all but failed.

Mustapa said he also heard of interest from Canada. American lawmaker Kevin Brady was reported to have said yesterday that Canada had made “solid inquiries”.

“So far we have confirmation from Japan and Mexico. We have discussed this at the ministers' level and we welcome their interest.

“Both countries are big and will boost the TPP. Japan is the third biggest economy while Mexico is big in this part of the world,” Mustapa told reporters here on Friday.

However, Mustapa cautioned that the inclusion of these countries in TPP must involve the consensus of the nine TPP countries - Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Singapore, Malaysia, Brunei, Chile, Peru and the United States.

“There are conditions to be met, like the consensus and their participation must not slow down the TPP process,” he added.

Mustapa, who is here to attend the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) finance ministers meeting, said Malaysia had proposed for trade ministers to meet before next month's ministerial-level meeting of the Doha trade talks in Geneva.

He said the negotiations on the Doha Development Agenda had been going on for the last 10 years and its deadline was extended several times without any successful conclusion.

“We want to see a successful conclusion to the Doha round.

“We need to narrow the gap among countries, but it is now further complicated by the present global economic situation,” he added.

Mustapa also met with his Chi-lean counterpart Alfredo Mareno, who promised him that Chile would not impose any tariff on Malaysian palm oil and cocoa from early next year as the Malaysia-Chile free trade agreement comes into force.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak arrived here earlier on Friday for the Apec meeting.

Najib and his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor arrived by private aircraft at the Hickam air force base located next to Pearl Harbour at 3.45pm local time.

The Star

Business & Investment Opportunities

YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Consulting, Investment and Management, focusing three main economic sectors: International PR; Healthcare & Wellness;and Tourism & Hospitality. We also propose Higher Education, as a bridge between educational structures and industries, by supporting international programs. Sign up with twitter to get news updates with @SaigonBusinessC. Thanks.