Proliferation of bilateral FTAs will not undermine WTO process
Bernama (Malaysia National News Agency), April 25, 2005
Proliferation of bilateral FTAs will not undermine WTO process
From Mohd Arshi Daud
HONG KONG, April 25 (Bernama) — The proliferation of bilateral free trade agreements (FTA) will not undermine the World Trade Organisation’s (WTO) process but instead may smoothen it, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said.
She said the existing bilateral FTA talks may lead to less arguments when the WTO trading partners meet in December for the WTO ministerial meetings in Hong Kong.
Citing Malaysia’s experience in FTA negotiations, the minister said: "There will be less arguments between us and our trading partners. We have sorted them out bilaterally."
She also said that often, products that are covered under the bilateral FTAs could be of more interest to the negotiating parties compared with those discussed under the WTO framework.
"To me this does not retract the WTO process," she said during a question and answer session during a seminar held in conjunction with an investment and trade mission here.
Rafidah is in Hong Kong for the last leg of her 10-day trade and investment mission which included Seoul, Kobe and Tokyo.
Included in the 66-member delegation were Malaysian External Trade Development Corporation (MATRADE) chief executive officer Datuk Merlyn Kasimir and Malaysian Industrial Development Authority (MIDA) director-general Datuk R. Karunakaran.
Rafidah said that reaching agreements under the WTO framework was not easy especially with the involvement of over 140 countries and inclusion of so many sectors.
"The agriculture sector alone has been holding us back since the Uruguay Round."
"So, in order not to make the process so constrain over the longer term, we will then unlock it through the regional FTA," she added.
