KUALA LUMPUR: The Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement is crucial to the United States to forge stronger economic ties with Southeast Asian countries such as Malaysia.
“I am a globalist. I believe that trade really benefits people… If you are an American having partnership with countries like Malaysia that are beyond security issues that include economic trade, I think it’s massively important for the US,” General Electric Co (GE) chairman and chief executive officer Jeffrey Immelt told Business Times in an exclusive interview.
The 60-year-old, who runs one of the world’s biggest multinational companies, also said the debate on free-trade agreement has got off on the wrong tangent in the US.
“We are going to regret it if we don’t find a way to pass TPP as a country, not as a company.”
GE, he said, could still survive with or without the TPP since it is a global company, but the deal could make the trade and economic ties between the US, Malaysia and other countries involved in the deal better.
The TPP is a free-trade agreement among 12 countries — Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore, Vietnam and the US.
In February, Malaysia and members of the trade pact signed the deal.
On Saturday, International Trade and Industry Ministry secretary-general Datuk J. Jayasiri said the TPP will be implemented even without the ratification of the US. It would still be in effect as long as six member countries ratify the deal.
The rectification is part of the final agreement before the trade deal can be implemented by 2018.