Malaysia to get greater access to india for palm oil, cocoa in trade pact
Bloomberg | Oct 19, 2010
Malaysia to get greater access to india for palm oil, cocoa in trade pact
By Manirajan Ramasamy
Malaysia said it expects to conclude talks with India on a free-trade agreement next week that should see it obtain greater access for products including cocoa and palm oil as well as more stringent anti-dumping provisions.
“Everything has been agreed,” Malaysia’s International Trade & Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed told reporters in Kuala Lumpur today. “India is a big market, growing fast.”
Southeast Asia’s third-largest economy is trying to expand the breadth and depth of its exports after recovering from its first recession in a decade. The two countries aim to complete negotiations during a visit to Malaysia by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, Mustapa said.
The governments have already completed seven rounds of talks since February 2008, the Malaysian trade ministry said, and the agreement will be ready for implementation on July 1, 2011, according to Mustapa.
The so-called Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement will cover areas including services, investment, customs and trade, the ministry said in a statement. The proposed exclusion lists are shorter than an earlier agreement between India and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, or Asean, of which Malaysia is a member.
India has exempted 1,225 items from tariff reductions under the Malaysian pact, compared with 1,298 under its Asean deal, according to the statement. Malaysia has exempted 838 items, compared with 898 under the earlier Asean agreement.
The proposed deal would give Malaysia concessions for palm oil and related products, with tariffs on refined palm oil sold to India reaching 45 percent by the end of 2018, one year earlier than the Asean agreement, the ministry said. It also obtained improved market access for cocoa and related products as well as textiles and clothing, according to the statement. These were excluded from the Asean deal, Malaysia said.
The agreement also contains “more stringent” anti-dumping provisions compared with India’s Asean deal, the trade ministry said. “This will benefit Malaysian exporters,” it said.
