Friday March 14, 2008
US seeks to conclude FTA
By MEERA VIJAYAN
JOHOR BARU: The United States hopes to conclude the final rounds of negotiations over the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the next eight months before the American elections.
However, the key would be to reduce barriers that restrict the volume of trade in the services sector and have greater transparency and clarity in the business system.
US Ambassador to Malaysia James Keith said that the coming months would be a window of opportunity to advance to the final rounds of the FTA with Malaysia.
“We have very serious issues that we need to address on a national level through our FTA negotiations and we will be pursuing that with vigour in the months ahead,” he said at a press conference after a luncheon address with the Malaysian Islamic Chamber of Commerce and the Johor Corp at Persada Johor.
Keith said that the United States would be focussing on negotiations related to financial services and government procurement.
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»Key is to reduce barriers that restrict the volume of trade«US AMBASSADOR TO MALAYSIA JAMES KEITH |
Keith added that with bilateral trade between both countries approaching US$50bil (RM160bil) annually, the United States and Malaysia already enjoyed a vibrant relationship, but that there were ways to further refine bond.
“This is part of the world where Malaysia’s competitors are seeking us too and seeking us in a big way.
“We want to make sure that we can create the maximum opportunity for American companies to invest in and trade with Malaysia,” he said, adding that the Iskandar Development Region (IDR) would be among places which would benefit from US investment.
According to Keith: “The key to attracting them would be to create a system that is as transparent as possible so that we can convince them that Malaysia is a good place to do business.”
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