FMM In The News: THE EDGE MARKETS, KUALA LUMPUR, Wednesday, May 25, 2022 - The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) said on Wednesday that new high-quality investments from the United States in the manufacturing sector, including electrical and electronics and medical devices, will not only generate jobs but help develop local manufacturers to become part of their supply chains through technology transfers in production and distribution and industrial upgrading.
FMM said in a statement that it welcomes further strengthening of investment ties between Malaysia and the US through the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which will involve 13 member countries including Malaysia.
"Although it is unfortunate that the US had withdrawn from the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement in 2017, we believe the IPEF is good beginning for a formal economic engagement with the United States," it said.
Although IPEF is not envisaged as a trade agreement to promote greater market access to the US market, it said it will focus on negotiating common regional standards relating to supply chain resiliency, clean energy and decarbonisation, digital economy, labour standards, transparency and regulatory practices.
Malaysian manufacturers can optimise on the strategic and economic benefits obtained from this framework to make Malaysia the preferred supply chain hub and investment destination, it added.
On Monday, US President Joe Biden launched the IPEF in Tokyo, with a dozen initial partners: Australia, Brunei, India, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam.
These countries and the US represent 40% of global gross domestic product.
The federation also congratulated the Malaysian government for chalking up major strides towards strengthening the bilateral linkages between Malaysia and the US.
Through strong efforts by the Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia has attracted RM16.52 billion worth of new investments from the US, it said.
It was reported that International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali had said that he hoped these commitments could be finalised in the third quarter of this year.