Malaysian rice farmers, activists, demand halt to free trade talks with US
AFX
Malaysian rice farmers, activists, demand halt to free trade talks with US
10-January-2007
The United States and Malaysia this week started a fourth round of talks for a free trade agreement (FTA), which Washington wants to complete before President George W Bush’s trade-negotiating authority expires in June.
The Coalition Against the US-Malaysia FTA delivered a memorandum to Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi calling on him to intervene, and urged transparency on the details and implications of the deal.
"Until the government abides by the above demands, all talks related to the FTA must be suspended," said the memo signed by 42 groups.
Farming and environmental groups in the coalition argued that a possible reduction of import tariffs on US farm produce from the FTA would harm Malaysia’s rice farmers. "Some 296,000 farmers depend on rice for their livelihood, with 116,000 farmers exclusively involved in the cultivation of padi," they said in a statement.
"If the rice tariff goes down to zero in view of the US demands, padi farmers in the country will certainly be unable to compete with the subsidized US rice imports." Among the groups are those representing rice farmers in northern Kedah state, which is considered Malaysia’s rice bowl.
A spokesman for the northern wing of the coalition, Mohamad Nizam Mahshar, said farmers were already angry over tariffs on rice imports being reduced under an existing Southeast Asian regional trade deal.
"So this time, when they see that the demand of the US is really cutting the tariff until zero, I think this will ultimately jeopardize their livelihood," Mohamad Nizam told AFP.
"The farmers are very angry but they are still opening channels to the government to respond," he said.
The US and Malaysia have so far held detailed discussions on critical areas such as labor, financial services, autos and government procurement.
The US has said both sides exchanged initial market access offers in goods and agriculture during the last round of talks in October.
