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Bangkok Post | 13 July 2006
Thai-US FTA talks left for new Thai govt.
UNITED STATES - Thailand¡¯s new government after the next general election later this year will take care of further negotiations between Washington and Bangkok on the proposed Thai-US Free Trade Area (FTA) Agreement, Foreign Minister Kantathi Suphamongkhon said on Wednesday.
Speaking in a special interview with Thai News Agency (TNA) from the United States, Dr. Kantathi said he had met and held talks with his US counterpart Dr. Condoleezza Rice to discuss bilateral relations between the two countries, as well as issues of mutual interest.
The issues include the planned FTA pact between the United States and Thailand and Washington¡¯s plan to grant its trade privilege under the generalised system of preference (GSP) to developing countries later this year.
Dr. Kantathi said he informed Dr. Rice that Thailand views the planned Thai-US FTA agreement a sensitive issue in which public and parliamentary participation to exchange ideas and opinions is needed.
Thailand¡¯s current caretaker government has, therefore, decided to leave new rounds of the Thai-US FTA talks to the new government after the next general election so that the parliament and the public can fully participate in the talks, according to the Thai foreign minister.
"I¡¯ve informed Dr. Rice of the reasons behind the postponement of the Thai-US FTA talks," he said.
The Thai foreign minister said he also asked Washington to renew the GSP to some Thai export products later this year in order to support Thai entrepreneurs, particularly those running small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
The US government reportedly plans to scrap the GSP for Thailand later this year, citing the country¡¯s development to a satisfactory level as the reason.
Meanwhile, Thai Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Somkid Jatusripitak is also lobbying American authorities for the extended GSP for the Thai exporters later this year.
The Thai foreign minister said Washington had also expressed interest in and supported Thailand¡¯s role in helping address the nuclear problem in the Korean Peninsula and in promoting economic crop plantations as the substitution of drug-crop plantations in African countries.
Dr. Kantathi revealed that his US counterpart also promised to take part in the forthcoming summits of the Association of the Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to be held in Malaysia later this month. (TNA)
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KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 23 (Bernama)
Malaysia and the United States have agreed not to rush into concluding a mutually-beneficial free trade agreement (FTA) until both parties are satisfied with what was being negotiated.
International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said even U.S Trade Representative (USTR) Susan C. Schwab has agreed that both parties should be cautious before agreeing to it and not merely meeting the deadline of the Trade Promotion Authority (TPA).
The TPA, which expires on July 1, 2007, is to accelerate the implementation of FTAs which the US is negotiating with.
In any bilateral, both parties should be satisfied with the outcome of the negotiations, Rafidah told Bernama after having talks with Schwab, here Wednesday.
Schwab, who is on her first trip to this region after being appointed to the post in June, is scheduled to meet her Asean counterparts, attending the 38th Asean Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting, here, where the US is likely to sign the Asean-US Trade Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) on Friday.
Both sides have met twice so far, first in Penang in June and in Washington last month. There are three more rounds of negotiations on scheduled, each in September, October and December this year.
Schwab was reported to have said that this December or January 2007 would be a "logical" deadline for both parties to conclude the FTA talks.
Malaysia is US¡¯ 10th largest trading partner, the largest in Asean and the fifth largest US trading partner in Asia.
Total trade with the US grew by 8.7 percent to RM161 billion for 2004-2005.
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US free-trade deal on shaky ground
swissinfo January 18, 2006
The prospect of a Swiss-US free-trade accord is in doubt, mainly due to differences over agriculture, according to Swiss Economics Minister Joseph Deiss.
On Wednesday the Swiss cabinet asked Deiss to look at the feasibility of such an agreement, now that exploratory talks have come to an end without clear progress.
Following the discussion with cabinet and the conclusion of the initial talks, Deiss played down hopes of a deal.
He told a press conference in the Swiss capital, Bern, that he was very cautious about the prospect of an agreement.
On the question of agriculture, Switzerland would like differentiated treatment for certain agricultural products. Washington, on the other hand, prefers the option of a global agreement covering all sectors, Deiss explained.
Martin Naville of the Swiss-American Chamber of Commerce told swissinfo he was hopeful that the two sides could work out their differences. "But that¡¯s more hope than certitude," he said.
"We very much hope that in the balance between the 99 per cent of Gross Domestic Product that provides value and the one per cent that gets a lot of money [agriculture], the balance would rather go in favour of the 99 per cent," Naville added.
Exploratory talks
Last June the Swiss cabinet announced plans to begin exploratory talks with Washington on a free-trade agreement. They started in September and ended last week.
Deiss is due to meet the US trade representative, Rob Portman, at the end of January at the World Economic Forum meeting in Davos to decide whether to proceed with formal negotiations.
They are both convinced that economic ties between the two countries must be significantly deepened, but this should not mask the problems to be overcome, said Deiss.
The US is Switzerland¡¯s biggest export market after the European Union, accounting for 10.4 per cent of exports.
It is also the most important target country for Swiss investors, with Swiss investments in the US currently totalling SFr80 billion ($62 billion). The US invests the same amount in Switzerland, making it the country¡¯s biggest investor.
Disappointment
Swiss business representatives have expressed disappointment at the government¡¯s "hesitant" approach to brokering a free-trade agreement with the US.
Thomas Pletscher of the Swiss Business Federation, economiesuisse, said this great opportunity to open up markets with the world¡¯s biggest economic power should not be missed.
But the Swiss Farmers Association as well as the country¡¯s main consumer organisation were pleased with the government¡¯s slower pace.
"We are glad that the cabinet seems to be approaching the issue with the necessary caution and taking account of agricultural interests," said Urs Schneider of the Farmers Association.
swissinfo with agencies
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Gulf Times, Doha, 28 January, 2006
US hopes for movement on free-trade pact in ¡¯06
Staff Reporter
THE US hopes to see during this year the beginning of the process to sign a Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Qatar, Ambassador Chase Untermeyer told a press conference on Thursday.
A Trade and Investment Framework Agreement was signed by the US with Qatar in 2004 as a precursor in this regard, he pointed out.
¡°Reaching a FTA is a very long process,¡± the envoy observed while explaining that Qatar must make itself ready by opening its economy to all countries, and getting rid of state monopolies and other enterprises.
¡°As Qatar focuses on and resolves issues related to labour sponsorship laws, obstacles to investment in the telecom sector and lowering of trade barriers, among others, we will be able to go for the ultimate goal of a FTA,¡± he said.
Once Qatar completes the formalities, formal negotiations can be held, followed by the approval of the FTA by the US Congress, the ambassador said. He described Qatar¡¯s investment climate as supportive of foreign investment.
Saturday, April 29, 2006
Report: Qatar halts trade talks with U.S.
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DOHA, Qatar — Qatar has frozen bilateral free trade talks with the United States, saying Washington was imposing preconditions that were not in Doha¡¯s interest, a newspaper reported Saturday.
"In time we would be happy to go back to the negotiating table, but there are issues that need to be resolved first," Nasser bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Qatar¡¯s ambassador to the U.S., was quoted as saying in the daily Al Sharq.
"The talks were not proceeding in the right direction. They were going nowhere. It was like two deaf people talking to each other. There was no sense in continuing with the dialogue," Al Khalifa said.
The U.S. State Department had no immediate comment on the issue and said none was likely until Monday. Officials in Qatar, a key U.S. ally in the Middle East, also were not available for further comment.
President Bush has until July 2007, under "fast-track" authority, to cut trade deals with the Congress being able only to accept or reject international agreements as a whole without power to accept or reject specific portions of the measures.
"Let¡¯s take time and review things," said Al Khalifa. "Sometimes powerful countries put preconditions that are not in the interest of smaller countries."
The ambassador said there were concerns that accepting preconditions now could lead to the imposition of even greater demands later.
"It becomes a vicious circle," he said.
Questioning the need for a free trade agreement in the first place, Al Khalifa said World Trade Organization agreements were sufficient for mutual trade and investment between any two member countries.
"We do not need a free trade agreement with the U.S.," Al Khalifa said.
Qatar, he said, already was a major destination of investment for U.S. companies because of favorable investment laws in the tiny Gulf nation.
Countries that are signing free trade deals with the U.S. are either getting financial support from Washington or want preferential treatment for their products in the U.S. markets, he said.
"As for Qatar, it needs none of these from America," said Al Khalifa.
Qatar¡¯s primary export is liquefied natural gas, for which there is a hungry worldwide market.
Qatar, an energy-rich country with a population of about 800,000, is home to the U.S. Central Command¡¯s forward operations in the Middle East, which played a central role in the 2003 invasion of Iraq. |