Malaysian textile manufacturers are looking forward with optimism at the parliamentary endorsement of the TPP at the end of January as the industry can grow by at least 30 percent with the implementation of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement said Malaysian Textile Manufacturers Association (MTMA) president Datuk Seri Tan Thian Poh at a press conference after a dialogue on potential economic impact of TPP on Malaysia’s textile and apparel industry, here, yesterday.

It has been a long wait for the industry since the negotiations started in 2010 and the industry is hopeful that the government’s decision on TPP would be worth the wait.

MTMA was involved in the TPP negotiations at various levels, providing industry expectations, reference, technical assistance and support to Malaysia’s negotiation team.

They expect TPP to bring a new breath of life to the industry. Based on the cost-benefit analysis carried out by the Institute of Strategic and International Studies and PricewaterhouseCoopers, the textile and apparel industry is expected to be the biggest gainer from the TPP, said Tan.

According to Malaysian Knitting Manufacturers Association (MKMA) president Tang Chong Chin, the textiles and apparel industry would be able to grow at least 30 per cent immediately upon implementation of the TPP agreement.

Miti deputy secretary-general (Strategy and Monitoring), Datuk J. Jayasiri, said that the United States procurement sector provided a huge market that was not previously accessible by Malaysia. Moreover , with the TPP agreement coming into effect, 72.9 percent of the textile tariff on 36.44 percent of total exports to the US would be eliminated.

Malaysian textiles and apparel companies are also getting ready to bid for supplying uniforms to the army, hospitals and schools.