Malaysia has stood firm in defending its halal standards during tariff-related negotiations with the United States, describing the process as complex and challenging, said Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz.
He said one of the issues raised was Malaysia's halal certification, which Washington regarded as a non-tariff barrier.
00:23while we agreed to the facilitation of the import process of certain halal certified products into Malaysia,
00:29we stood firm on maintaining our world-class, world-leading halal standards.
00:35Clearly, the halal industry is not a purely national or bilateral affair.
00:40Islam is a global religion.
00:42With 2 billion Muslims globally and the 3.5 trillion US dollar global halal market
00:48have set to grow to 5 trillion US dollars by 2030,
00:51multilateral cooperation in the global halal industry should be very important for us.
00:58Next, the how. The how is also equally important.
01:02On a larger scale, how we develop our societies and economies will impact the world
01:07and determine our collective future.
01:09Strengthening the Muslim world economically, sustainably and inclusively will also strengthen our hand,
01:16more so at a time when we must make our voices heard on certain global stages.
01:21The halal industry can help us achieve all this.
01:24In fact, halal goods and services are increasingly procured by people of all faiths and cultures, not just Muslims.
01:31Furthermore, at the time of growing trade protectionism and armed conflicts,
01:36the halal industry can buck the trend by doubling down on multilateral cooperation.
01:41It is important for us to show the rest of the world that there is a better path than the one we are on.
01:47Malaysia is uniquely positioned to play a catalytic role in resetting the global trading system through the halal economy.
01:55Malaysia can do this not just as a supplier but as a standard setter, system builder and bridge maker for ethical trade.
02:03Through the Madani Economic Framework, for example, we are promoting economic reforms and encouraging equitable wealth creation
02:10by raising not just our economic ceiling but also our economic floor to benefit everyone.
02:16So in closing, I would like to reiterate that at a time when geo-economic competition is driving nations to secure resilient and diversified supply chains,
02:26Halal offers Malaysia a strong edge that can anchor our SMEs and exporters in new growth markets across ASEAN, the Middle East and Africa.
02:36Malaysia has the capacity and encouraged to be the connector of emerging economies,
02:41a possible counterbalance to Western-centric trade blocs.
02:45In many ways, our Honorable Prime Minister has been a vocal advocate of that and we are here to support the execution of his vision.
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