KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 30 — Malaysia has committed to addressing a range of non-tariff barriers in agriculture, including recognition of the United States’ food safety system for American meat, poultry, and dairy products.
The Malaysia-US Agreement on Reciprocal Trade (ART) – a sweeping bilateral trade pact signed by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and US president Donald Trump here last Sunday – requires Malaysia to accept US food and agricultural products as meeting domestic safety and import standards, effectively granting legal equivalence to American regulatory systems and certifications.
According to a fact sheet by the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR), Malaysia’s commitments on agriculture include:
- Recognition of the US food-safety system for meat, poultry, and dairy products;
- Streamlined halal certification for US food and agricultural exports;
- Market access for US sorghum; and
- Adoption of regionalisation measures to facilitate US pork and poultry exports.
These agricultural obligations are detailed in Section 2 of Annex III of the legally binding trade agreement, published by the White House last Sunday.
Article 2.3 on agriculture in the text of the main agreement states that Malaysia shall provide “non-discriminatory or preferential market access” for US agricultural goods.
Recognition Of US Food, Animal, Plant Safety Systems
Under Article 2.6 in Annex III of ART, Malaysia must recognise that US sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measures, technical regulations, and standards for food and agricultural products satisfy Malaysia’s import requirements.
The article further requires Malaysia to accept any bilateral export certification documents or electronic data elements agreed upon between both governments, or other official certification issued by US authorities, as proof of compliance for imports of food and agricultural products into Malaysia.
Malaysia must also ensure that any future changes to these bilateral export certificates are made with the concurrence of the US, and that attestations or information required in such certificates are limited to what is necessary to meet applicable US requirements.
In addition, the article reaffirms Malaysia’s obligations under the World Trade Organization’s (WTO) Agreements on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures and on Technical Barriers to Trade, including the duty to notify proposed measures to the WTO and consider feedback from member countries before adoption.
Under Article 2.7, Malaysia may not require an SPS certificate solely for the issuance of an import permit for food and agricultural products.
It’s noteworthy that ART does not subject recognition of US SPS measures to Malaysia’s own SPS authority assessment, nor a requirement for the American system to be aligned with the WTO agreement on SPS measures.
Automatic Recognition Of US Meat, Poultry, Dairy, Fishery Facilities
Under Article 2.8 of Annex III, Malaysia must automatically recognise US food facilities and inspection systems for dairy, meat, poultry, and aquatic products without imposing additional registration, audit, or inspection requirements.
For dairy products, Malaysia is required to recognise the US dairy-safety system as providing at least the same level of protection as Malaysia’s own system, and to allow imports of US dairy of bovine, ovine, and caprine origin when accompanied by a US Department of Agriculture (USDA) Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) sanitary certificate.
US dairy facilities are to be registered in Malaysia based on the lists provided by the USDA AMS. Currently, Malaysia’s Department of Veterinary Services (DVS) visits and conducts physical assessments of such facilities. Hence, this clause means a system-based recognition, without depending on inspections by Malaysian authorities.
For meat and poultry – including offal, processed meat and poultry, Siluriformes (catfish), and egg products – Malaysia must recognise USDA Food Safety and Inspection Service (FSIS) oversight and accept the FSIS Meat, Poultry and Egg Product Inspection (MPI) Directory as the official list of US establishments eligible for export to Malaysia.
Malaysia must also accept FSIS-inspected and certified products bearing an FSIS Export Certificate of Wholesomeness (FSIS 9060-5 series), without any additional product or facility registration. This clause limits Malaysia’s policy space, as there are instances where additional requirements need to be imposed due to animal health, public health, or food safety concerns.
For aquatic products, Malaysia must allow imports accompanied by the bilaterally agreed certificate issued by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
Under Article 2.9, Malaysia must accept halal certification issued by any US halal certifier designated by the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim) as meeting Malaysian halal requirements, “without additional requirements”.
These new recognition provisions build upon Malaysia’s existing adherence to Codex Alimentarius and World Organisation for Animal Health (WOAH) standards for imported animal products.
In August, CodeBlue reported that Malaysia’s DVS had already permitted certain American-style meat production practices – including chlorine-washed poultry and limited ractopamine use in pigs – as long as they comply with international Codex limits.
Malaysia’s 2022 self-sufficiency ratio for fresh milk was 57.3 per cent and only 14.7 per cent for beef and water-buffalo meat, highlighting the country’s continued reliance on imported animal products.
Limits On Blanket Disease Bans For Poultry And Swine
The trade agreement also restricts Malaysia’s ability to impose broad animal-disease bans on US exports.
Under Article 2.10 in Annex III, Malaysia must ensure that any import measures for live poultry, poultry genetics, poultry products, and eggs or egg products are fully consistent with the WOAH TAHC, including Chapter 10.4 on infection with highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI).
Malaysia is required to align its regulatory definition of poultry with the WOAH code and, within 180 days of the agreement’s entry into force, to narrow the scope of its import restrictions to the county level. This means that bans in response to HPAI outbreaks may only apply to the specific US county or counties where infections are confirmed.
The agreement designates the US Department of Agriculture’s Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) as the competent authority to determine when a US county is considered free of HPAI and therefore eligible to resume exports of live animals and poultry products to Malaysia.
Similarly, under Article 2.14, Malaysia must recognise the United States’ regionalisation measures for African swine fever (ASF) within 15 months of the agreement’s entry into force. Malaysia is required to begin assessing recognition of ASF-free zones in the US and, consistent with WOAH TAHC Chapter 15.1, to conclude a regionalisation agreement that limits any import restrictions to affected zones rather than imposing nationwide bans.
In Malaysia, ASF has already been declared endemic, with DVS reporting ongoing outbreaks across several pig-farming states. In Penang, ASF outbreaks led to the culling of 2,060 pigs across four farms as of August 1, including 351 that died from infection and 1,709 that were put down to contain its spread, according to Penang’s DVS.
This domestic context highlights the relevance of Malaysia’s new commitment under the trade pact to adopt zone-level, rather than nationwide, disease controls.
Acceptance Of US Standards For Biotechnology And Chemical Residues
The agreement also fast-tracks US agricultural biotechnology products into Malaysia’s market.
Under Article 2.11 in Annex III of ART, Malaysia must maintain science- and risk-based regulatory frameworks and efficient authorisation processes for agricultural biotechnology products, recognising such technologies as key to boosting productivity and food security.
Malaysia is also required to facilitate the assessment of products already evaluated and authorised by US regulators, expediting their access to the Malaysian market.
If trace levels of biotech material are detected in US shipments – known as low-level presence (LLP) – Malaysia must ensure that the case is managed “without unnecessary delay” and take into account any relevant safety assessments or authorisations from the US or third countries when deciding how to respond.
Under Article 2.12, Malaysia recognises that processed food and agricultural products derived from biotechnology do not contain living modified organisms (LMOs) and therefore are not subject to separate LMO approval requirements.
The article defines “processed” products as those rendered non-viable through heat treatment, grinding, or other methods that remove their ability to germinate.
Meanwhile, Article 2.13 requires Malaysia to adopt corresponding US maximum residue limits (MRLs) for pesticides or veterinary drugs in cases where Malaysia has not established its own thresholds.
Enforcement actions must be risk-based and limited to the entity responsible for non-compliance, while suspensions may only be imposed after multiple violations. Malaysia is also obliged to share its testing methodologies and markers with the US upon request.
CodeBlue previously reported that Malaysia already adopts Codex-based MRLs for veterinary drugs, such as ractopamine used in pigs and cattle. Ractopamine is a highly controversial feed additive that has been banned in the European Union (EU) since 1996.
The Malaysian Veterinary Medical Association (Mavma) said ractopamine is permitted under the Food Act 1983 and Food Regulations 1985, and that Codex-established MRLs should not be exceeded when the drug is used under veterinary supervision in accordance with label dosage, duration, and withdrawal periods.
Commitments To Global IP Treaties Affecting Agriculture
Beyond food safety and sanitary measures, ART also commits Malaysia to align its intellectual-property regime with US and international standards.
Under Article 2.17 on International Agreements, Malaysia must fully implement a series of global intellectual-property treaties, while ratifying and acceding to additional instruments within two years of the agreement’s entry into force.
The required agreements include the Budapest Treaty on the International Recognition of the Deposit of Microorganisms for the Purposes of Patent Procedure, which facilitates patent protection for biotechnological and microbial innovations, and the International Convention for the Protection of New Varieties of Plants (UPOV 1991), which grants proprietary rights to plant breeders for newly developed crop varieties.
Malaysia is also required to adopt the Patent Law Treaty, harmonising administrative procedures for patent applications, and to join the Geneva Act of the Hague Agreement on Industrial Designs and the Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks, among others.
While most of these instruments concern general intellectual property, several directly affect the agriculture and biotechnology sectors by strengthening protections for plant genetics, breeding innovations, and microbial research.
The commitment to implement UPOV 1991 within two years marks a significant shift toward an IP system that privileges plant-breeding rights under international norms.
Implementation Timeline
Under the agreement, Malaysia must implement the new import procedures and recognition mechanisms immediately upon the deal’s entry into force, with 180-day and 15-month transition windows for disease regionalisation measures on poultry and swine respectively.
ART will take effect once both countries complete their domestic ratification processes.
