Malaysia-US FTA negotiations in June

11 Apr '06

2 min read

Malaysia and United States of America a joint announcement stated that both the countries will commence trade negotiations June 2006 and will seal the deal by early 2007.

Issues to be negotiated under the Malaysia-US FTA are: Trade in goods, including agriculture products; Trade in services, including financial services; Investment; Government procurement; Intellectual property rights; Labor; Environment; Competition policy; Customs procedures; Trade remedies; Sanitary and phytosanitary; and Technical barriers to trade.

The First Round of Negotiations will be held on June 12-16, 2006 in Malaysia.

Inter-agency Working Groups for the respective negotiating areas have been established to undertake domestic consultations with all stakeholders.

MITI invites the business and industry associations, professional bodies, chambers of commerce, individual companies and other interested parties to provide feedback, suggestions and views.

This FTA can be used to:
Seek further market access for products of export interest to Malaysia , including electrical and electronic products and textiles and apparel; address non-tariff measures, in particular technical barriers, including stringent Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Measures; promote investment flows; and collaborate and cooperate to enhance competitiveness in specific sectors such as tertiary education, health and tourism.

The US is Malaysia's single largest trading partner while Malaysia is the 10th trading partner for the US. In 2005, trade with US was valued at RM160 billion and accounted for 16.8 per cent of Malaysia's global trade.

The US remain an important source of foreign direct investment in the manufacturing sector in Malaysia. In 2005, the US was the largest source of foreign direct investment with total investments amounting to RM5 billion.

Ministry of International Trade and Industry

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