Malaysia, US to implement APEC-Tel MRA

Malaysia and the US have concluded talks regarding certification of locally-made radio frequency equipment exported to the latter.

Ministry of International Trade and Industry and the Office of the United States Trade Representative signed the letters of exchange on June 28, 2016 on the adoption and implementation of the Conformity Assessment of Telecommunication Equipment, Phase 1 of the Apec-Tel Mutual Recognition Arrangement (Apec TEL MRA).

In a statement today, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, said Malaysia was the third country in Asean, after Singapore and Vietnam, to adopt the Apec TEL MRA.

"The conclusion of these talks was vital to facilitate exports of Malaysia's telecommunications equipment to the US market.

"The government is committed to ensure that exports of our radio frequency equipment to the US, valued at RM11.4 million in 2015 and accounted for 22.7 per cent, or RM41.1 billion, of global exports in the same year, are not disrupted by the new ruling in the US," he said.

Mustapa said this initiative was pursuant to a new ruling introduced by the US Federal Communications Commission (US FCC) whereby laboratories and telecommunication-certified bodies outside the US must be accredited and designated by the US FCC under the terms of an MRA.

The ruling came into force on July 13, 2015, with an original one-year grace period until July 13, 2016.

However, on June 21, 2016, the US decided to extend the grace period by another year to July 13, 2017 to give industries more time to adjust and to avoid any potential disruption of the distribution and sale of radio frequency equipment.

The minister urged local laboratories that were currently listed with the US FCC to contact Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission and Standards Malaysia to apply for the Accreditation Process for Testing Laboratory under the MRA.