Malaysian and US business communities support FTA
October 31, 2006
Malaysian And US Business Communities Support FTA
KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 31 (Bernama) — The Malaysian and American business communities have announced their support for successful completion of the third round of US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (USMFTA) negotiations this week.
They met earlier, Tuesday to share their views on the mutual benefits and opportunities that a free trade agreement between Malaysia and the United States could provide to both nations.
They were members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), US-Malaysia Business Coalition, American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM Malaysia), Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) and the US-Asean Business Council, which represent several thousand companies with tens of thousands of members in Malaysia and the US.
The organisations urged the US and Malaysian negotiating teams and relevant government officials within agencies that are affected by the FTA to reach a swift and successful conclusion to the FTA talks.
"The overall gains to each partner country should be positive, and we believe the US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement will result in a win-win outcome for both nations," the group said a joint statement.
"We are aware that in a bilateral FTA, there must be mutual benefits to the partner countries," they said.
The group said while there could be individual concessions as evident in any negotiation, it should not be regarded as a zero sum scenario.
The spirit of the FTA should extend beyond trade and investments, they said.
According to the group, the successful negotiation of a comprehensive USMFTA could play an important role in supporting the international trade and foreign direct investment components of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
It would also help strengthen Malaysia’s global and regional competitiveness in line with the nation’s aspiration of achieving global competitiveness as outlined in the Third Industrial Master Plan, they added.
The organisations said the US is Malaysia’s largest investor, with more than RM104 billion (US$28.8 billion) in cumulative investments in the country, while Malaysia is the US 10th largest trading partner.
Completing an FTA would help to raise the profile of the Malaysia brand among American businesspeople, policy-makers, and consumers, helping to ensure significant business expansion in both countries and an increase in future foreign direct investment (FDI) by American companies operating in Malaysia, and those who are thinking about starting new operations here, they said.
They believed that a mutually beneficial agreement could be negotiated which provides greater transparency in the decision-making process when procurement policies are formulated and allows government procurement to be an effective socio-economic development policy instrument.
The US government procurement market is worth more than US$250 billion (RM900 billion) per year and there are opportunities for Malaysian-based businesses to partner with their US counterparts, in order to tap this sizeable market, which can be accessed with the signing of the FTA.
Cooperation programmes and capacity building should also be incorporated into the FTA, the group said.
