Hamim: TPPA report will be tabled in parliament

Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry Datuk Hamim Samuri said the draft of the agreement is still being discussed with industry players to determine the pros and cons when the agreement was implemented later.

"Until the specifics have not been finalised in the drawing up of the draft agreement, the report will not be tabled in Parliament.

"The draft agreement will be tabled in Parliament only after the main issues have been agreed upon," he told reporters after opening "Conversation With Leaders" hosted by the Performance Management and Transformation Leaderahip Centre, a unit in the Malaysian Institute of Management.

The event discussed the topic "How Business Can Benefit from Free Trade Agreements: Helping Malaysian Companies to Develop New Market" besides exchanging views on interesting issues in TPPA.

Hamim said among the basic issues which have not been agreed upon are small and medium enterprises, environment, government procurements, intellectual property rights and state-owned enterprises.

Asked whether the TPPA will be signed by year-end, he said that was the targeted deadline, but Malaysia was not necessarily bound by the timeline.

Twelve countries, including Malaysia, are involved in the trade pact negotiations.