NEW ROUND OF MALAYSIA-US FTA TALKS MAY RESUME SOONER THAN EXPECTED

By Mohd Razman Abdullah

KOTA BAHARU (Malaysia), May 21 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is on the right path
for a new round of Free Trade Agreement talks with the United States, following
the liberal policies announced by the Malaysian Government recently.

The US Ambassador to Malaysia James R.Keith said the present Barrack Obama
administration was in the process of reviewing the aspects of the agreement and
would speed up the new round of talks with Malaysia.

US President Obama's policy to strike a win-win situation for both countries
is very clear and this concerns two financial and business aspects of
the agreement namely the financial and government procurement sectors, he said.

Malaysia stands to gain from the US$250 billion worth of government
contracts offered by the US if the FTA materialises.

The three-year negotiations between the two countries however would have to
take a backseat first until the review is completed as soon as the trade and
financial trips by the president in the Asian region are concluded and following
the main Doha Development Round and regional talks scheduled this year, Keith
told local bureau chiefs during a roundtable session here as part of his visit
to the East coast states since May 19.

"I believe that although we are faced with the global financial
slump, things are going on as usual and before we know it, the talks may resume
sooner than expected," he said.

He said Obama was on a global trip to extend his friendly gestures to all
continents and with this, Malaysia's bilateral relations with the US in the
areas of military, law enforcement, commerce and foreign policies would be
enhanced.

The Doha Round is the current trade-negotiation round of the World
Trade Organization (WTO) which commenced in November 2001.

Its objective is to lower trade barriers around the world, and allow
countries to increase trade globally.

As of 2008, talks have stalled over a divide on major issues, such
as agriculture, industrial tariffs and non tarriff barriers services,
and trade remedies.

The most significant differences are between developed nations led
by the European Union (EU), the United States (USA) and Japan and the major
developing countries led and represented mainly by India, Brazil, China and
South Africa.

There is also considerable contention against and between the EU and the
U.S. over their maintenance of agricultural subsidies-seen to operate
effectively as trade barriers.

The most recent round of negotiations on July 23, last year, broke down
after failing to reach a compromise on agricultural import rules.

After the break down, major negotiations were not expected to resume until
2009.

Nevertheless, intense negotiations, mostly between US, China and India, were
held in the end of 2008 in order to agree on negotiation modalities.

However, these negotiations did not result in any progress.
--BERNAMA