IPEF Would Be DETRIMENTAL FOR MALAYSIA
Academics and representatives of civil society organisations in those countries, many of whom are veterans of the international movement that derailed the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), reacted to this announcement. Their reactions reflect a shared demand for any Indo-Pacific discussions to advance a genuine alternative to the failed 20th century free trade model, which has undermined governments’ ability to regulate Big Tech and other large corporations, and must be conducted in a transparent and participatory manner.
The IPEF is intended to offer US allies an alternative to China’s growing commercial presence across the Asia-Pacific. It foresees integrating partners through agreed standards in 4 main areas: the digital economy, supply chains, clean energy infrastructure and anti-corruption measures.
“The IPEF would be detrimental for Malaysia,” says CAP President Mohideen Abdul Kader.
“US multinational companies are openly pushing for provisions that would prevent the Malaysian government from preferentially purchasing from local companies, and for stronger intellectual property protection that would make medicines more expensive.
“The digital economy provisions would undermine Malaysia’s privacy, consumer protection, health, environmental, financial, tax and other crucial regulations, while investor-to-state dispute settlement provisions would restrict Malaysia’s ability to regulate and expose it to paying billions of dollars in penalties to foreign investors,” he points out.
“These are among the problematic provisions that are unacceptable for Malaysia.”