KUALA LUMPUR, March 11 — The European Union (EU) expects the first round of negotiations on resuming the Malaysia-European Union Free Trade Agreement (MEUFTA) to take place before June, said European External Action Service managing director for Asia and the Pacific Niclas Kvarnström.
He said both the EU and Malaysia are advancing their internal preparations.
“The relaunch of Malaysia-EU trade negotiations is of particular importance in the current context of geopolitical tensions that disrupt trade flows and supply chains globally.
“The EU aims to develop trade partnerships with trusted partners with whom it shares fundamental values and common interests,” he told Bernama in an interview at the EU Delegation office here today.
Kvarnström is visiting Malaysia.
In January, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim met European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in Brussels, where both leaders announced the resumption of MEUFTA negotiations.
Talks on the agreement began in 2010 but stalled in 2012 over Malaysia’s concerns about the EU’s palm oil procurement policies, subsidies, and sustainability clauses.
Malaysia cited discrimination against palm oil, particularly claims related to open burning and labour practices.
Expanding on the negotiations, Kvarnström said the EU and Malaysia share a commitment to a rules-based international order, economic openness, sustainable development, and regional stability.
He noted that whatever was discussed and agreed upon in 2012 is now obsolete.
“The world has changed significantly — not only from a geopolitical perspective but also in terms of technology, innovation, value chains, and environmental challenges.
“We (the EU and Malaysia) must therefore start again from scratch,” said Kvarnström.
Kvarnström said Malaysia, too, has evolved and is well on its way to becoming a high-income country, with a transformed economic profile.
While Malaysia continues to rely on mineral and natural resources, it has also built a strong industrial base, including innovative sectors, he added.
On EU-Malaysia trade figures, Kvarnström said bilateral trade in goods totalled €44.7 billion (RM214.2 billion) in 2023.
The EU imported €29.1 billion worth of goods from Malaysia, while its exports to Malaysia stood at €15.6 billion, leaving Malaysia with a €13.5 billion trade surplus.
Trade in services amounted to nearly €11 billion in 2022.
The EU was also Malaysia’s second-largest source of foreign direct investment, with €31.6 billion in 2023.
Bilateral trade is dominated by industrial products, particularly machinery and appliances, which account for over 90 per cent of trade flows. Machinery and appliances alone made up 62 per cent of all EU imports from Malaysia and over 46 per cent of EU exports.
— Bernama
