Malaysia Places 412 Tariff Lines Under Asean-Korea FTA
Bernama, Malaysia
Malaysia Places 412 Tariff Lines Under Asean-Korea FTA
5 June 2007
KUALA LUMPUR, June 5 (Bernama) — Malaysia has placed 412 tariff lines under the sensitive track in the tariff liberalisation programme of the Asean-Korea Free Trade (AKFTA), which took effect from this month.
The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI) said of the total tariff lines, 356 were placed in the sensitive list and 56 under the highly sensitive list.
The products include iron and steel, rubber products, plastic products, chemical products, automobile, textile and apparel, rubber products, diary products, machinery and mechanical appliances, and glass and glassware.
Details of the products covered in the normal track and sensitive track as well as the tariff reduction schedules are available at the ministry’s website (www.miti.gov.my).
To benefit from preferential tariff rates under the AKFTA, MITI said that exporters needed to submit an AKFTA certificate of origin (which could be obtained from the ministry) to the customs authority in South Korea.
The certificate of origin will be issued by MITI upon application, for products that comply with the AKFTA rules of origin.
MITI said the requirements under the AKFTA rules of origin are products that must have at least 40 percent value added in the AKFTA countries or the products that have undergone substantial transformation resulting in a change in tariff heading.
However, product specific rule is also applicable for products under agriculture, textiles, process agriculture, iron and steel, and automotive.
MITI said that Malaysian importers of products from South Korea would enjoy the AKFTA tariff rates only upon submission to the Malaysian Customs an AKFTA certificate of origin issued by the Korean authorities.
Details on the AKFTA rules of origin and the procedures and guidelines for the application of AKFTA form are also available at the MITI website.
The application forms can be purchased from the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) and all its branches.
The tariff liberalisation programme under the AKFTA will be undertaken under a normal track and a sensitive track, in which the products placed in the sensitive track were further clasified under a sensitive list and highly sensitive list.
MITI said tariffs on products in the sensitive list would be reduced to 20 percent not later than Jan 1, 2012, and subsequently reduced to zero to five percent not later than Jan 1, 2016.
