Malaysia – EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA) will jeopardise public health, access to seeds & farmers’ rights
Consumers’ Association of Penang - 13 June 2025
Malaysia – EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA) will jeopardise public health, access to seeds & farmers’ rights
The recently leaked Intellectual Property (IP) Annex of Malaysia’s trade agreement with the European Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland, will have serious implications for public health and food security in Malaysia.
The IP Annex of MEEPA, shockingly, reveals many provisions that go beyond the minimum requirements of the World Trade Organization (WTO) Agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPS Agreement), also known as ‘TRIPS-plus’ obligations. The full impact of MEEPA, including its IP Annex, cannot be fully assessed as the complete text has not been made publicly available. A preliminary analysis of the leaked text, however, reveals numerous TRIPS-plus commitments that raise serious concerns, as explained in detail below.
As a net IP importer, TRIPS-plus obligations mean longer IP monopolies and consequently higher IP imports with higher royalty payments, to the detriment of Malaysia’s economy. Agreeing to TRIPS-plus commitments in trade agreements also ties the hands of the Malaysian government, limiting its ability to adapt national laws/regulations in Malaysia to address new challenges and opportunities as well as to meet national development needs.
Worryingly, the proposed provisions enable and lock in the extension of the scope and length of patent monopolies that can be granted in Malaysia, limiting the freedom to operate for local industries, especially its generic pharmaceutical industry. At the same time, the proposed provisions undermine flexibilities available under the TRIPS Agreement and in our national laws and regulations, which are essential to protect national interests such as access to affordable treatment, to seeds and other propagating materials, as well as to safeguard the interests of our farmers and their practices to save, re-use, exchange and sell farm-saved seeds/propagating materials.
EFTA countries, including Switzerland, are a small market for Malaysian exports. The total population of all EFTA countries combined is only 42% of Malaysia’s population. Agreeing to TRIPS-plus in EFTA means Malaysia is giving up a lot for a small market and likely small gains.
Malaysia should pay heed to calls by many experts, such as the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs, UN High Level Panel on Access to Medicines, WHO and other expert reports around the world, which are repeatedly cautioning/advising against agreeing to IP provisions, especially TRIPS-plus measures, in trade agreements.
The attached analysis examines the implications of the IP Annex of the Malaysia-EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement (MEEPA), as leaked, for access to seeds and farmers’ rights, as well as for public health, especially access to affordable medicines and other medical products. As a net IP importer, TRIPS-plus obligations mean longer IP monopolies and consequently higher IP imports with higher royalty payments, to the detriment of Malaysia’s economy.
Read the full report here
