US: No plans to begin new trade talks
Houston Chronicle, USA
U.S.: No Plans to Begin New Trade Talks
By En-Lai Yeoh, Associated Press Writer
25 August 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia - The United States has no plans to begin new bilateral free trade negotiations with other nations, and will focus on successfully concluding the four it is actively pursuing, Washington’s top trade envoy said Friday.
"The United States is only negotiating a bare handful of Free Trade Agreements at the moment," said U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab. "There are a lot of countries interested in negotiating FTAs with us...(but) we’re not adding other negotiations."
Apart from Malaysia, the U.S. is also talking to South Korea, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates, Schwab said. Another one, with Panama, has been ongoing for sometime and that "may or may not" reach conclusion, she added.
"That’s it. Those are the priorities," said Schwab, who spoke to reporters following a meeting with Malaysia’s Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz on the sidelines of the ASEAN trade ministers meeting here.
Schwab, who was confirmed as top U.S. trade chief only in June, held more than half a dozen bilateral meetings with her counterparts from the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian nations, as well as other Asian countries.
Discussions with Rafidah’s office began earlier this year. U.S. officials hope to fast-track negotiations that would allow it to be signed by July 2007 _ the expiration of U.S. President George W. Bush’s authority to negotiate trade deals that require Congress to approve or reject them without adding any amendments.
One area of contention is "government procurement" or awarding of Malaysian government contracts, for which U.S. firms would be keen to bid. Under Malaysia’s affirmative action policy, many government contracts are given to ethnic Malay-owned companies _ some without open bidding.
Among the issues expected to be contentious include Malaysia’s auto policy favoring its national carmaker Proton, and limits placed on foreign banks. Malaysia in return, is seeking more access to America’s huge textile and leather market, among others.
"These things are not easy to solve," Rafidah said.
Neither Rafidah or Schwab would be drawn into whether the remaining three rounds of talks this year could lead to a successful conclusion before next July.
"Any gold standard FTA is going to have tough negotiations," Schwab said.
Malaysia is the United States’ 10th largest trading partner with US$44 billion (euro36 billion) in two-way trade.
