The Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) is considering setting up a base in South America to gain better access in both North and South American tyre markets.
Malaysian Rubber Board (MRB) director-general Datuk Mohd Akbar Md said to Bernama that he felt that the country’s impending membership in the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA) would unlock trade barriers for the rubber products industry and lead to greater market access to other member countries.
North America, he added, was considered a traditional market for Standard Malaysian Rubber (SMR) and rubber products such gloves, condoms, pipe seals rings and hoses.
“The United States is the distribution centre for this region and through TPPA, exports could further improve due to tariff elimination particularly for gloves, which currently attracts an import duty of between 4% and 14%. This will be eliminated with the implementation of the TPPA, he said to Bernama.