KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia – Malaysia's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) announced that it has submitted its Instrument of Ratification (IOR) for the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.

According to the ministry release, the IOR was submitted to the ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Secretariat on January 17, with the agreement taking effect for Malaysia on March 18.

The Ministry statement read -  that the RCEP would give Malaysia's economy a great boost and improve the global trading system, particularly in light of the pandemic, which has made international trade and collaboration more crucial than ever.

"It is worth noting that the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is a testament to efforts to improve not only the multilateral trading system, but also regional economic integration and the World Trade Organization's (WTO) development goal," it stated.

"The pandemic has highlighted the critical relevance of worldwide trade and cooperation, as well as regional supply chain interconnections. In this sense, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) would be a critical enabler for Malaysia in reviving local and international economic operations following the epidemic "It was also added.

According to the Ministry, Malaysia is likely to benefit the most from the RCEP agreement in terms of increased exports, with a projected $200 million rise as a result of tariff elimination and reduction for merchandise items, as well as the simplicity of goods export and import.

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