# Malaysia's Free Trade Agreements: CPTPP, RCEP and the Rest of the Portfolio

> Malaysia is party to eight bilateral and nine regional free trade agreements, anchored by two mega-deals — RCEP (in force March 2022) and CPTPP (in force November 2022) — with an EFTA partnership agreement concluded and EU talks resumed.

- Category: economy
- Language: en
- Status: published
- Updated: 2026-08-08
- Canonical: https://negaraku.md/en/economy/malaysia-free-trade-agreements

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Most of Malaysia's imports and exports move across borders where tariffs have already been negotiated down. That network has been assembled deal by deal since the early 1990s — from the ASEAN Free Trade Area to the two mega-agreements, RCEP and CPTPP, that now sit at its centre.

For an economy this open — trade routinely runs well above GDP — the FTA portfolio is not a diplomatic footnote. It decides which of a Malaysian exporter's shipments arrive duty-free and which get taxed at the border.

## How many free trade agreements does Malaysia actually have?

Malaysia is party to **eight bilateral FTAs** and **nine regional FTAs**, negotiated and administered by the Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI). On top of these sit two narrower "partial-scope" preferential agreements that cut tariffs on a defined list of goods rather than across the board.

The bilateral agreements pair Malaysia with a single partner country:

| Bilateral FTA | Entry into force |
|---|---|
| Malaysia–Japan | 13 July 2006 |
| Malaysia–Pakistan | 1 January 2008 |
| Malaysia–New Zealand | 1 August 2010 |
| Malaysia–India | 1 July 2011 |
| Malaysia–Chile | 25 February 2012 |
| Malaysia–Australia | 1 January 2013 |
| Malaysia–Turkey | 1 August 2015 |
| Malaysia–United Arab Emirates | 1 October 2025 |

The Malaysia–UAE Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, in force since 1 October 2025, is Malaysia's first trade agreement with a Gulf Cooperation Council state.

Note that Malaysia has both a bilateral deal *and* a regional deal covering several of the same partners — Japan, India, Australia and New Zealand each appear twice. Exporters can generally choose whichever agreement gives the better tariff or the easier rules of origin for a given shipment.

## What are the regional agreements built on?

The regional FTAs are all anchored in ASEAN. The foundation is the **ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)**, operating through the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), which has eliminated tariffs on the overwhelming majority of intra-ASEAN trade. From there, ASEAN negotiated as a bloc with major partners.

| Regional FTA | Entry into force |
|---|---|
| ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) | 1993 |
| ASEAN–China (ACFTA) | 1 July 2003 |
| ASEAN–Korea (AKFTA) | 1 July 2006 |
| ASEAN–Japan (AJCEP) | 1 February 2009 |
| ASEAN–Australia–New Zealand (AANZFTA) | 1 January 2010 |
| ASEAN–India (AIFTA) | 1 January 2010 |
| ASEAN–Hong Kong, China (AHKFTA) | 13 October 2019 |
| Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) | 18 March 2022 |
| Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) | 29 November 2022 |

The two most recent entries are the most consequential.

## RCEP: the world's largest trade bloc

The **Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership** brings together the ten ASEAN members plus China, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand. RCEP entered into force for Malaysia on **18 March 2022**, after Malaysia completed its ratification.

RCEP's headline is scale rather than depth: it covers a group of economies that together account for a very large share of world trade and population. On tariffs, it eliminates duties on about **92% of goods** traded among its parties over time, phased in across the years following entry into force.

Its more strategically important feature is a **single set of rules of origin** across all 15 members. Instead of tracking a different origin formula for each partner, a manufacturer can source components from anywhere in the RCEP zone and have them count toward the local-content threshold — a real advantage for regional supply chains that thread through several ASEAN and East Asian countries.

## CPTPP: deeper rules, new markets

The **Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership** is the higher-standard deal. Its members are Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. Malaysia submitted its instrument of ratification on 30 September 2022, and the agreement entered into force for Malaysia on **29 November 2022** — making Malaysia the **ninth** member to implement it. (At the time of implementation, Brunei and Chile had yet to ratify.)

CPTPP's commercial pull is twofold. First, it removes tariffs on the vast majority of goods traded between members, with **99% of tariff lines** set to be duty-free once the agreement is fully implemented. Second, it opened preferential access to markets Malaysia had no prior FTA with — notably **Canada, Mexico and Peru** — giving exporters tariff advantages in the Americas they did not previously enjoy.

Beyond tariffs, CPTPP reaches into areas earlier FTAs left untouched: government procurement, state-owned enterprises, labour and environmental commitments, e-commerce and intellectual property. That depth is why it took longer to ratify and why it carries obligations that go well past customs duties.

## RCEP vs CPTPP at a glance

| | RCEP | CPTPP |
|---|---|---|
| In force for Malaysia | 18 March 2022 | 29 November 2022 |
| Members | 15 (ASEAN + 5 partners) | 11 (Pacific Rim) |
| Tariff coverage | ~92% of goods over time | 99% of tariff lines once fully implemented |
| Standout feature | Single regional rules of origin | Access to Canada, Mexico, Peru |
| Depth | Broad, tariff-focused | Deep — procurement, SOEs, labour, IP |

## What does the FTA network mean for trade?

The practical measure is how much of Malaysia's commerce now runs through preferential channels. In **2024**, trade with FTA partners was valued at roughly **RM1.77 trillion** in combined imports and exports, producing a trade surplus of around **RM221 billion**. The FTA network therefore covers the majority of Malaysia's external trade.

The two partial-scope agreements round out the picture for exporters targeting emerging markets: the **Trade Preferential System among OIC Member States (TPS-OIC)** and the **D-8 Preferential Tariff Agreement**, both of which took effect for Malaysia on 1 October 2023, cut tariffs on defined product lists among member developing economies.

## Which agreements are still on the table?

Malaysia's negotiators have not stopped. Two European tracks are the most advanced:

- **Malaysia–EU FTA.** Talks originally launched in 2010, were suspended in 2012, and **resumed in January 2025**, with the first negotiating round held in late June 2025. The EU is pursuing an ambitious deal covering goods, services, investment, government procurement, digital trade and sustainability commitments.
- **Malaysia–EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement.** Malaysia concluded negotiations with the EFTA states — Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland — on **11 April 2025**, and the agreement was signed on 23 June 2025 in Tromsø, Norway; ratification is pending.

Other bilateral tracks have also appeared in Malaysia's negotiating pipeline, including a reported preferential agreement with Iran.

## What's next

If you export or import, the practical step is to check MITI's official FTA portal (`fta.miti.gov.my`) for the specific tariff schedule and rules-of-origin requirements that apply to your product and destination — the phase-in dates and local-content thresholds vary by agreement and by tariff line. For most manufactured goods heading into ASEAN or East Asia, RCEP's single rules-of-origin regime is worth modelling against the older ASEAN-plus deals to see which yields the better outcome.

Watch the EU and EFTA tracks. A concluded EU deal would be Malaysia's first comprehensive agreement with the bloc and would reshape access for palm oil, electronics and services alike. For the underlying regional foundation, see our companion overview of Malaysia's ASEAN membership.

## Sources

- Malaysia's Ratification of CPTPP / Preferential Certificate of Origin (MITI) — https://www.miti.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/3911 (Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI))
- Malaysia's Free Trade Agreements (official FTA portal) — https://fta.miti.gov.my/index.php/pages/view/4 (Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI))
- Malaysia — Trade Agreements (Country Commercial Guide) — https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/malaysia-trade-agreements (International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce)
- Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) — key benefits — https://www.enterprisesg.gov.sg/grow-your-business/go-global/international-agreements/free-trade-agreements/find-an-fta/rcep (Enterprise Singapore (Government of Singapore))
- About tariff elimination under the CPTPP — https://www.international.gc.ca/trade-commerce/trade-agreements-accords-commerciaux/agr-acc/cptpp-ptpgp/tariff-elimination-droits_de_douane.aspx?lang=eng (Global Affairs Canada (Government of Canada))
- Malaysia's Free Trade Agreements — Doing Business Guide — https://www.aseanbriefing.com/doing-business-guide/malaysia/why-malaysia/malaysia-fta (ASEAN Briefing (Dezan Shira & Associates))
- EU-Malaysia Agreement — https://policy.trade.ec.europa.eu/eu-trade-relationships-country-and-region/countries-and-regions/malaysia/eu-malaysia-agreement_en (European Commission, Directorate-General for Trade)
- Malaysia — EFTA free-trade relations (EFTA–Malaysia Economic Partnership Agreement) — https://www.efta.int/trade-relations/free-trade-network/malaysia (European Free Trade Association (EFTA))

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