U.S.-Malaysia trade deal possible by March: USTR http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2007-01-12T225727Z_01_N12302795_RTRUKOC_0_US-USA-MALAYSIA-TRADE.xml
Fri Jan 12, 2007
By Doug Palmer
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Malaysia could reach a free trade agreement with the United States by the end of March if the majority Muslim country can reform its long-standing preference programs for native Malays, the top U.S. negotiator said on Friday.
"We believe that the progress we've made this week has put us within striking distance of concluding within the next few months," Barbara Weisel, assistant U.S. Trade Representative for Southeast Asia and the Pacific, told reporters near the end of a fourth round of talks on the proposed pact. The toughest issue in the talks involves Malaysia's policies aimed at increasing the prosperity of ethnic Malays and other indigenous peoples, known collectively as bumiputras, Weisel said.
"They're important programs to them and they need to consider it carefully. This part of the negotiation is clearly the most challenging," Weisel said by telephone from San Francisco where the fourth round was held. "I think there are ways to find resolution to these issues that don't undermine the policies that have been in place for a long time and allow the Malaysian government to open the market."
The United States recognizes that Malaysia is not going to completely eliminate preference programs that reserve a substantial share of the government procurement market for bumiputra, but believes there still are ways the pact can open up that sector to more American firms, Weisel said. In the wide-ranging services negotiations, the United States is most interested in liberalization of the bumiputra preferences in telecommunications, financial services, express delivery, computers and energy distribution, she said.
The Bush administration needs to reach a deal by the end of March so it can be submitted to Congress before trade promotion authority expires on July 1. That legislation requires lawmakers to approve or reject trade pacts without making any changes.
"I think it is doable if both sides are committed to getting it done," Weisel said.
The two sides had good overall discussions this week and have reached tentative agreement on many areas of the text, which contains 23 chapters, she said.
Talks on agriculture are going well and the two sides will getting soon be getting into the details of negotiations on textiles and automobiles, Weisel said.
Washington is looking for the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers in Malaysia's highly protected auto sector, while a top priority for Kuala Lumpur is increased access to the U.S. clothing and textile market. The next round will be held in February in Malaysia.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.