US Trade Rep ’Cautiously Optimistic’ Of Mutually-beneficial FTA
Bernama, Malaysia
US Trade Rep ’Cautiously Optimistic’ Of Mutually-beneficial FTA
By Jackson Sawatan
23 August 2006
SINGAPORE, Aug 23 (Bernama) — The US Trade Representative is "cautiously optimistic" that the US and Malaysia will be able to conclude a mutually-beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) during the remaining rounds of the negotiations despite the tight deadline.
"We do have a tight deadline. It’s an agreement that was entered into by both governments and I think we both realised that a FTA agreement makes for a tough negotiations," US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab said.
She told journalists here that this December or January 2007 would be a "logical" deadline for both parties to conclude the FTA talks.
"We both know that we will only get an agreement if we have one that is mutually-beneficial to both countries," said Schwab, who is making her first trip to this region after being appointed to the post in June.
Schwab is scheduled to meet Association of South-East Asian Nations (Asean) trade ministers at the ongoing 38th Asean Economic Ministers Meeting in Kuala Lumpur where the US is likely to sign the Asean-US Trade Investment Framework Arrangement on Friday.
The US-Malaysia FTA negotiations were launched on March 8 in Washington. Both sides have met twice so far, first in Penang in June and in Washington last month. There are three more rounds of negotiations on scheduled, each in September, October and December this year.
She anticipated tough talks ahead as negotiators narrowed down to issues that are sensitive to both sides.
"FTA is not a gift from the US to another country, nor it is a gift, in this case Malaysia or other country, to the US. It is negotiated in a way that is comprehensive, and very deep and that means when you get towards the end of the negotiations, it usually is pretty tough," she said.
She declined to elaborate on specific issues involved in the FTA talks, only saying, "as you move further, you start narrowing down to tougher and tougher issues and obviously government procurement policies tend to be sensitive in virtually any country."
"So we’ll see how that goes ... we’re cautiously optimistic we will be able to conclude a mutually-beneficial agreement in time to take advantage of Trade Promotion Authority (TPA)," Schwab said.
The TPA is to accelerate the implementation of FTAs which the US is negotiating with.
"The current authority of the TPA expires on July 1, 2007 and the Congress needs to be formally notified 90 days before we sign an agreement ... and any agreement has to be signed before the expiration of the TPA," she said.
"I think that’s what both governments pledged to try to achieve. I think International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz was quoted not too long ago as saying that Malaysia could not be rushed into a bad deal.
"Neither country would be rushed into a bad deal. I think she is right, Malaysia needs to negotiate a FTA that is clearly in its best interest just as the US is negotiating a FTA that is in our best interest," she said.
