Bernama, Malaysia
FMM Supports Malaysia-US FTA
1 July 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, July 1 (Bernama) — The Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM) said the Malaysia-US Free Trade Agreement (MUSFTA) will serve as a mutually beneficial partnership agreement for further collaboration in the goods sector.
While US import duties are generally low for manufactured goods, there are some products of interest to Malaysian manufacturers that have high import duty such as footwear, textile/fabric, apparel and ceramic tableware.
Preferential treatment gained through this FTA will provide Malaysian manufacturers the competitive advantage over competitors that are able to produce at lower cost such as from China.
The liberalisation in tariffs enables such products from Malaysia to penetrate the US market as well as boost current exports, FMM said in a statement here Saturday in reaffirming its support for the FTA.
Meanwhile, exports of textiles and clothing from Malaysia to US remained relatively unchanged in 2005 at RM2.93 billion compared with RM2.94 billion in 2004.
The lowering of tariffs under the FTA, FMM said, would create additional opportunities for Malaysian exports with regard to market access.
It noted that in the case of the US-Singapore FTA, trade in goods and services between the partner countries had risen by more than 10 percent (about US$4 billion (US$1=RM3.67)).
As for the US-Australian FTA, the exports of meat has increased by 20 percent, dairy products by 35 percent and services by 4.1 percent after a year.
The US was Malaysia’s largest trading partner in 2005, accounting for 16.6 percent of Malaysia’s global trade, while Malaysia was US 10th largest trading partner, largest trading partner in Asean and the fifth largest in Asia.
Malaysia’s total trade with US was at RM160.95 billion while US investment in Malaysia stood at RM76 billion.
The US too remains the leading destination for Malaysian exports accounting for 19.7 percent of total exports, which include electrical and electronics, wood products, textiles and clothing, optical and scientific equipment and rubber products.