Public Now | 2 June 2016

EFTA and Malaysia hold seventh round of negotiations on an economic partnership agreement

Press release

Ambassador Didier Chambovey from the Swiss State Secretariat for Economic Affairs acted as the EFTA spokesperson, while Senior Director Khoo Boo Seng from the Ministry of International Trade and Industry headed the Malaysian delegation. Negotiations between EFTA and Malaysia have been ongoing since April 2014. The two sides have held seven rounds of negotiations, as well as intersessional expert meetings

Expert working groups convened to discuss draft texts in the following areas: trade in goods (including market access on industrial and agricultural products), rules of origin, trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade remedies, government procurement and trade and sustainable development. Experts on services, investment, legal and horizontal issues, competition, intellectual property rights and government procurement will hold intersessional meetings before the eighth round of negotiations this autumn.

Merchandise trade between the EFTA States and Malaysia amounted to USD 3.3 billion in 2015, with exports from EFTA worth USD 2.2 billion and imports from Malaysia worth USD 1.1 billion. Trade in services and investment are also substantial between the two sides, with the stock of foreign direct investment originating from the EFTA States in Malaysia amounting to over USD 5 billion in 2014.