CAP which has been critical of the TPP, said it was good that the US had decided not to proceed with it, but there was now concern that the remaining 11 countries, including Malaysia, would go ahead with it.
“We don’t support this move. At the beginning, Malaysia said it wanted to be in the deal to gain access into the US market.
“Now, with no US in the picture, it doesn’t make sense to go through it with the other countries.
“We think it will be best if Malaysia does not go through with it,” CAP legal adviser Meena Raman told FMT.
She also urged the country not to amend existing laws to make them TPP-compliant.
“If even the US doesn’t want to do it, there is no reason why Putrajaya would want to change the laws. It would be illogical,” she said.
CAP has been against Malaysia’s participation in the TPP. Some of the reasons for its objections were fear that jobs in the country would be cut and that foreign investors or corporations could sue governments for alleged deal violations.
Other concerns included intellectual property provisions that benefited big corporations at the expense of the people, expanded copyright terms and others that could impact pharmaceutical patents and digital innovation.
“There were many provisions that can prevent the government from implementing policies that benefit the people. The TPP deal may also make things harder for state-owned corporations and local companies.
“There are huge implications. Prices of medicines could increase for Malaysians and the generic medicine industry would face problems.
“Due to the copyright provision, books and other publications could become more expensive,” Meena said.
She said CAP was also concerned about what kind of bilateral trade deals Malaysia might ink with the US under its new administration to replace the TPP.
If US President Donald Trump was not pursuing the TPP deal because it did not benefit his country, she said “anything the Trump administration pursued now might be worse than the TPP”.
On the US’ exit which has opened trade doors with China, Meena said CAP was also looking closely at the trade relations between China and Malaysia.
“We are tracking the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) trade deal closely,” she said of the trade pact pushed forward by Beijing.
“Our concern is this deal may also have TPP-like provisions or beyond. We don’t think the Chinese deal is the same as the US deal but we have to study it closely to ensure the agreement is mutually beneficial.
“It cannot be lopsided like the TPP, which doesn’t really benefit developing nations like Malaysia.”
The RCEP is a Pan-Asian deal seen as a project by China to counter the TPP. Excluding the US, the deal includes China, the 10 Asean countries, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The trade pact mooted in 2011 covers a combined population of 3.5 billion and a gross domestic product of US$22.6 trillion (RM100 trillion).