Tok Pa’s take on TPPA laughable, says MP

'It is comical to say that you can pull out after agreeing and putting regulations in place.'

PETALING JAYA: Klang MP Charles Santiago has rubbished International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed’s claim that Malaysia can withdraw any time from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) after signing it.

Speaking to FMT, Santiago said: “Once you agree and begin to put in place TPPA-centred regulations and commitments, it’s rather comical to say that you can pull out.

“Once you change domestic laws on patents, labour and intellectual property rights and such, you set in motion an economic template that mirrors the US economy. How would Mustapa reverse this?”

He added that the TPPA was designed to deepen the signatory countries’ commitment to it over time.

“That is why we were harping on cost-benefit analyses before negotiations rather than after the conclusion of negotiations,” he said. “Essentially, countries were negotiating on the US template.”

He was also critical of Mustapa’s statement that the pros of the TPPA outweighed the cons.

“There is no basis to say that,” he said. “The cost-benefit analyses have not been concluded. What are we measuring against?

“From what we know so far, the data protection period for biologics, for example, is eight years. This means that only after eight years would Malaysians get generic medicines.”

Santiago also spoke of the lowering of tariffs for electronics and electrical (E&E) products, noting that most E&E companies operating in Malaysia are foreign owned.

“How does this help Malaysia when profits are sent back to the US?” he asked. “We should instead be getting lower tariffs on oil palm exports to the US, but this is not the case.”

He noted that E&E companies were already enjoying low rental and cheap water and electricity. “So if Malaysia provides them subsidies in the form of lower tariffs, it’s a boon for them. Yet similar support is not given to Malaysian companies.”

Referring to Mustapa’s claim that the TPPA would raise standards, he said: “Standards are not achieved by copying. We first need to improve our system of education, develop new products and processes.”

He pointed out that standards are controlled by people who control technology. “And it’s the US that’s in control, not Malaysia, Vietnam or Brunei.”

He said the TPPA would not work for Malaysia “because we’re trying to fast forward an economy which is stuck with cheap labour as its competitive strength and which does not have industry, innovation and technology at its centre.”

He also claimed that the US wanted Malaysia to be part of its geopolitical framework against China.

“In no time, you will see that the TPPA will be heightened from a trade partnership to a defence agreement such as Nafta (North American Free Trade Agreement). In fact, the US Defence Secretary suggested that a few months ago.”

Nafta, a rules-based trade bloc, groups Canada, Mexico and the US.