EFTA and Malaysia hold sixth round of negotiations on an Economic Partnership Agreement

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 led the Malaysian delegation.

 

Expert working groups convened to discuss draft texts in the following areas: trade in goods (including market access), rules of origin, trade facilitation, technical barriers to trade, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, trade remedies, trade in services, investment, competition, legal and horizontal issues, intellectual property rights and trade and sustainable development. Discussions on cooperation and government procurement were deferred to the next round.

 

Since the first round of negotiations in April 2014, EFTA and Malaysia have held six rounds of negotiations, as well as intersessional expert meetings on an Economic Partnership Agreement. Three rounds were held in 2014, two in 2015 and a seventh round is planned for early summer 2016.

 

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.