WT/REG340/2  
 
27 June 2014  
(14-3718)  Page: 1/3  
Committee on Regional Trade Agreements 
 Original: English  
 
 FREE TRADE AGREEMENT BETWEEN AUSTRALIA AND MALAYSIA 
(GOODS AND SERVICES) 
QUESTIONS AND REPLIES 
 The following communication, dated 26 June 2014, is being circulated at the request of the 
delegations of Australia and Malaysia. 
_______________ 
 
 This document reproduces the questions addressed to the Parties and the responses 
submitted. 
 
Questions from the delegation of Canada 
 1.1.  Paragraph 3.7: Malaysia has provided a commitment that no quantitative limit on 
imports shall apply to originating vehicles of HS Chapter 87 imported from Australia that 
may be subject to Approved Permits or any si milar import licensing requirement, and no 
additional charges shall be imposed on impo rts of such originating vehicles (Annex 1 – 
Appendix 3). 
 Could Malaysia please elaborate on how the commitments established in the 
Agreement affect the new National Automotive Policy? 
 
 The commitment under MAFTA is in line with the Government's efforts towards liberalization of the automotive sector where Open AP will be  phased out by 31 December 2015 and Franchise 
AP by 31 December 2020.  
 
1.2.  Paragraph 5.24: The Agreement contains  no specific provisions on government 
procurement.  
 Do the Parties intend to negotiate government procurement commitments in the 
future? If so, could the Parties provide a specific timeline? 
  The Agreement does not contain any provisions  in relation to government procurement. 
However the FTA Joint Commission established under Article 19.1 of the Agreement may explore 
measures for the further expansion of trade an d investment between the Parties and therefore 
may consider whether to initiate work on the inclusion of issues not currently covered by the Agreement. There have been no discussions, to date, on such issues. 
 
Questions from the delegation of the Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, 
Kinmen and Matsu 
 Provision on Trade in Goods 
Regulatory provisions on trade in goods 
 1.3.  Paragraph 3.6.3: According to Article 7. 5.1 (b) of this FTA, both Parties agree to 
exchange information on issues relating to anti-dumping measures and practices in anti-
dumping investigations. WT/REG340/2 
 
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   We would like to know whether the info rmation exchange under the said Article 
includes early consultations between both Pa rties regarding properly documented anti-
dumping complaints against certain im ports from either of the parties. 
 
 This is a general provision which affords the opportunity for the Parties to exchange 
information on issues relating to anti-dumping measures, safeguards and subsidies and countervailing measures; developments in the WTO and other relevant international forums; and 
on practices by the Parties' competent authoritie s in anti-dumping, safeguards and countervailing 
investigations. This provision is not intended to relate to specific investigations or cases, nor to early consultations between Parties regarding prop erly documented anti-dumping complaints. The 
provision is to improve the understanding of Parties' respective trade remedy procedures and 
practices. 
 
Questions from the delegation of Thailand 
 1.4.  Paragraph 3.7: Malaysia has provided a commitment that no quantitative limit on imports shall apply to originating vehicles of HS Chapter 87 imported from Australia that 
may be subject to Approved Permits or any si milar import licensing requirement, and no 
additional charges shall be imposed on impo rts of such originating vehicles (Annex 1
 – 
Appendix 3) . 
a. Please give more information regarding th e procedures required for vehicles of 
HS Chapter 8, in order to obtain "A pproved Permits or any similar import 
licensing requirement".  
 Information on AP for vehicles is available at the following link: 
 
http://www.miti.gov.my/cms/documentstorage/ com.tms.cms.document .Document_8f64656d-
c0a81573-448b1ca0-
b445b840/Guidelines%20to%20Apply%20for%20Import%20Licence%20for%20Motor%20Vehicle
s%202013.pdf  
 
b. Please explain how quantitative limit on  imports is applied with vehicles of 
HS Chapter 87  if subject to approved permits or any similar import licensing 
requirement, and how such system is different if such measures are applied 
with imports from Australia. 
 The total number of APs for CBU vehicles issu ed every year is based on 10% of the Total 
Industry Production (TIV) for locally produced vehicles in the previous year. 
 
1.5.  Paragraph 3.14: Under the Agreement,  Malaysia establishes tariff-rate quotas 
(TRQs) for certain agricultural products (Annex 1  – Appendix 1).  Malaysia applies TRQs 
to 17  tariff lines (Table 3.5 ). TRQ volumes increase annually  in perpetuity. The import 
licenses are to be issued on a first-come, fi rst-served basis. For products other than 
liquid milk there is to be no restriction on who can apply for a license, except for the TRQs for 0207.11.00, 0207.12.000 and 0207.14.000.
 In relation to the liquid milk TRQs 
for 0401.10.100 and 0401.20.100, 35% of each of the annual TRQ volumes are to be 
administered by an open licensing system, with no restriction on who can apply for a 
license and no restriction on whether the prod uct is imported in bulk or retail packs. 
 Please kindly provide more information regarding the import licenses for 
0207.11.00, 0207.12.000 and 0207.14.000, how the submission of applications or 
requirements are different from othe r TRQ products under the Agreement. 
 
 There is no difference in the submission of import application for the import of species gallus domesticus: Not cut in pieces, fresh or chilled (HS Code 0207 11 000), Not cut in pieces, frozen (HS Code 0207 12 000), Cuts and offal, frozen (HS Code 0207 14 000) compared to other TRQ 
products except that for the stated products, import approval is given only if it is sourced from 
processing plants that has been approved for export to Malaysia.  WT/REG340/2 
 
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  1.6.  Paragraph 5.35: In a side letter on labour provisions the Parties affirm their 
interest in facilitating cooperation and consul tation on labour issues of mutual interest. 
They recognize each Party's responsibility to adopt, administer and enforce its own 
labour laws, regulations and practices to ensure that they are not used for trade 
protectionist purposes or labour standards weakened to gain a trade advantage. The 
Parties agree that once TPP has been ratified  by both countries they will be bound by 
the outcome of these negotiations. They agree that inclusion of labour provisions in the 
Agreement will be reviewed no later than tw o years after the entry into force of the 
Agreement, or at such time as the Parties agree. 
 Please describe whether there is specific  criteria or mechanism for each Party to 
examine or ensure the implementation of each  Party to adopt, administer and enforce its 
own labour laws, regulations and practices for trade protectionist purposes or labour 
standards weakened to gain a trade advantag e. If it found the nonconformity of the 
implementation, what action shall be taken? 
 
The side letter notes that as "…Malaysia and Australia are also currently involved in 
negotiations on labour provisions under the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement ("the 
TPP")…Malaysia and Australia have jointly concluded that it is appropriate that labour issues not be 
addressed in the Agreement at this time" but this  will be reviewed no later than two years after 
entry into force, or at such time as is otherwis e agreed. As such, there is currently no mechanism 
in the Agreement for undertaking the sort of review mentioned by Thailand. 
 
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