TWN Info Service on Free Trade Agreements

09 March 2007


FTA Talks Still On, says PM

The US-Malaysia FTA talks are “not off”, Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was reported to have said, adding that Malaysia was still doing its “homework” and fine-tuning the issues which have been raised.

The Cabinet on Wednesday discussed the Malaysia-US FTA during which the ministers gave their views on those issues which concern their respective ministries. Discussions are expected to continue at next week’s Cabinet meeting.

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak adds that the government is in the final stages of putting together its position which it hopes to finalise by this month.

The US wants to conclude the talks by April 2 because it needed to present it to the US Congress 90 days before its Trade Promotion Authority to negotiate FTAs expired in June.

Meanwhile, concerns are continued to be expressed by groups and individuals of the possible negative impact that such an agreement will have on the country.



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Item 1

Pak Lah: FTA talks still on
The Star, 9 March 2007
By MERGAWATI ZULFAKAR AND SHAHANAAZ HABIB
(http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2007/3/9/nation/17094151&sec=nation)

KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia is neither optimistic nor pessimistic about whether the Free Trade Agreement with the United States is signed by the end of the month, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said.

The Prime Minister said talks were definitely “not off” and Malaysia was still doing its “homework” and fine-tuning the issues which have been raised.

“We want to make sure that the end results from the negotiations is something that benefits us and our interests,” he told reporters after launching the Pantai Sentral Park Project in Pantai Dalam yesterday.

When asked whether the 58 outstanding issues would be sorted out within the next three weeks, Abdullah said:

“Whatever we do, the most important thing is that we want to ensure that what we achieve is best for Malaysia. For us, that’s our priority.”

The United States had set a March deadline to conclude the talks because it needed to present it to the US Congress 90 days before its Trade Promotion Authority to negotiate FTAs expired in June.

On whether was more pessimistic now about the FTA, Abdullah said:

“I am not saying anything about pessimism and optimism. But the fact is that we are able to go through a lot of those issues.”

Asked if it was not a big deal for Malaysia if the talks failed, Abdullah said: “We will talk about it if that happens.”

In Osaka, Japan, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Malaysia would only sign the FTA with the United States if there was no negative impact on the country.

He said Malaysia needed the FTA but the agreement should be on terms that were mutually acceptable.
“Negotiations have gone a long way and we are in the final stages of putting together our position.

“This month, we will make a position and will try to narrow the differences with the US,” he said during a luncheon with Japanese businessmen yesterday.

Recently, International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz, who is coordinating the negotiations, said Malaysia and the United States had already agreed on the non-negotiable issues such as the bumiputra policy and the sovereign right of the nation to make policies.

However, there were another 58 outstanding issues that needed to be worked out.

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Item 2
Major free trade issues 'still being fine-tuned'
New Straits Times, 09 Mar 2007
(http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/nst/Friday/National/20070309100604/Article/local1_html)
KUALA LUMPUR: The outstanding issues in negotiations for a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States are still being fine-tuned, the prime minister said.

"Whatever we do, the most important thing is that we want to achieve what is best for Malaysia. That is our priority," Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi said after launching the Pantai Sentral Park project here yesterday.

Asked whether he was optimistic about concluding the talks, he said: "I am not saying anything on pessimism and optimism, but the fact is that we are able to go through a lot of these issues and we have our own views on what needs to be done."

Several rounds of negotiations have been held in the past year, with the latest in Kota Kinabalu last month.

Malaysia feels there should be no time-frame for the conclusion of the FTA negotiations while the US wants an agreement before the expiry in June of President George W. Bush’s "fast-track authority", which compels the US Congress to accept or reject it in toto.

The US is Malaysia’s largest investor with more than RM104 billion in cumulative investments in the country. It is also Malaysia’s single largest trading partner, while Malaysia is the US’ 10th largest.