Malaysia Targets June 2027 Signing For EU Trade Deal With Palm Oil And Auto Issues Unresolved
Johari says almost 80% of talks are complete, with remaining differences still being negotiated.
Malaysia aims to sign a free trade agreement with the European Union by the end of June 2027, with almost 80% of negotiations completed but palm oil and automotive issues still under discussion, its trade minister said on Oct. 13.
The timetable sets a negotiating target for an important export market. It does not establish that the agreement has been concluded or that businesses can already claim new tariff preferences under it.
Investment, Trade and Industry Minister Johari Abdul Ghani outlined the goal at the EU-Malaysia Business Day 2026 event in Kuala Lumpur, Bernama reported. He described the talks as work in progress and said the remaining questions included palm oil and the automotive sector.
Johari said wider market access was important for Malaysia as an open economy. His estimate of negotiating progress measures the government's account of the discussions, rather than a published schedule showing that every chapter or obligation has been agreed.
A Relationship With A Long Negotiating History
The two sides announced the resumption of negotiations on Jan. 20, 2025. The original talks began in 2010 and were paused after seven rounds in 2012 at Malaysia's request, according to the European Commission's Malaysia trade overview.
A stocktaking process began in 2023, followed by an exercise to establish the scope and ambition of a possible agreement. That work finished in December 2024, before the relaunch and a first negotiating round in late June 2025.
The Commission still describes the agreement as being negotiated. Its figures put bilateral goods trade at 48.9 billion euros in 2025, comprising EU imports from Malaysia of 30.3 billion euros and exports to Malaysia of 18.6 billion euros.
Industrial products account for more than 90% of those goods flows, with machinery and appliances particularly prominent. Malaysia also supplies products such as optical and medical instruments, fats and oils, and plastics, while EU exports include chemicals and transport equipment.
Those figures use the EU's reporting perspective: imports are purchases from Malaysia and exports are sales to Malaysia. They also measure goods, so they should not be treated as a total for goods and services combined.
What The Relaunch Was Intended To Cover
The joint relaunch statement issued through MITI framed the talks as an upgrade to the trade relationship and closer integration of the two economies. The stated ambition was a comprehensive agreement that could support businesses and consumers on both sides.
The statement identified new business opportunities and more resilient supply chains as expected benefits. It described cooperation as important in a shifting geopolitical landscape and followed discussions in Brussels on Jan. 19, 2025. The document records the ambitions agreed at the relaunch, rather than the final terms now under negotiation.
For companies, however, broad negotiating aims are different from the final rules they would use. The practical value of an agreement will depend on its completed text, including which products and activities receive preferential treatment and the requirements attached to that treatment.
Johari's June 2027 target is therefore the next milestone to watch, alongside an announcement that negotiations have actually concluded. A signing date, legal approval and the point when provisions take effect are distinct stages; the Oct. 13 comments do not collapse them into one event.
Until a final agreement and its implementation arrangements are available, the confirmed development is progress toward a deal. Existing trade continues under the applicable rules while negotiators work through the remaining differences.