Negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement with Malaysia were launched today by European
Commission President Jose Manual Barroso and Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Tun
Razak. The EU will negotiate a comprehensive agreement covering tariffs, non-tariff
barriers as well as commitments on other trade related issues, notably procurement,
competition and sustainable development. It would be the first time that Malaysia would
include sustainable development and government procurement commitments in a free
trade agreement. Also, this will give a significant window of opportunity for translating
the ongoing services liberalization process in Malaysia into economically meaningful new
market access opportunities for EU businesses.