Japan, Malaysia to sign FTA soon

Japan, Malaysia to sign FTA soon

The Japanese and Malaysian governments will reportedly sign a free trade agreement (FTA) in mid-December. The negotiations regarding the agreement, which are at an advanced stage, are expected to be completed during Asian summit meetings in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. Summit meetings of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and of East Asian leaders are scheduled to begin on December 12 in Kuala Lumpur. The FTA will mark Japan's third FTA after the FTAs signed with Mexico and Singapore. As previously reported by SteelOrbis, the negotiations regarding the FTA had been broken off many times since the parties couldn't reach an agreement on auto and steel sectors. In the basic agreement, Malaysia agreed to abolish tariffs on many mining and manufacturing products, including steel and automobiles, within 10 years following the implementation of the FTA. Japan agreed to ease trade of certain agricultural, forestry and fishery products, in return.