MALAYSIA will consider a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States if the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement fails to materialise, said Prime Minister Najib Razak.

He said Malaysia and the US were committed to continuing the dialogue on trade and investment, via the Trade and Investment Framework Agreement.

“In respect of the TPPA, the Malaysian delegation and I had a dialogue with members of the US Congress and we urged them to stick with the TPPA members to make the agreement a success.

“If it does not materialise, I have proposed that the TPPA model be incorporated into a bilateral agreement such as an FTA which has been delayed since 2008,” he said. 

Najib said this in reply to a question from Tiong King Sing (BN-Bintulu) on the outcome of the prime minster’s visit to the US last month. 

President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the US to officially withdraw from TPPA negotiations in January.

Trump cancelled the negotiations for a deal that he said would take jobs away from Americans and which was not in the interest of the US.

Meanwhile, Najib said the US was Malaysia’s third largest trading partner with a total trade of RM135.9 billion last year.

He said his working visit to the US was upon the invitation of Trump and was aimed at strengthening bilateral relations.

“Investment and bilateral trade were a key component of my visit to the US. It is being emphasised as the Trump administration is perceived to hold a different view from the previous administration in respect of the economy, trade and investment.

“The US represents the world’s largest economic power and Malaysia as a country that practices open trade will be affected if the US adopts a protectionist trade stance and make access to the US market  difficult.”

He said Malaysia had taken proactive steps to offer a valuable proposition to the US via an increase in US investments from the Employees Provident Fund and Khazanah Nasional Bhd, as well  cooperation between Malaysia Airlines Bhd (MAB) and Boeing.

Najib stressed that the investment in Boeing aircraft was made by the management of MAB without political interference. 

“The matter was recently clarified by the former MAB chief executive officer, Peter Bellew and the purchase is in line with the company’s transformation plan,” he said. – Bernama, October 30, 2017.