Govt in no hurry to complete FTA with US: Rafidah
Bernama, Malaysia
Govt In No Hurry To Complete FTA With US: Rafidah
14 August 2006
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 14 (Bernama) — The government is in no hurry to complete the free trade agreement (FTA) with the US, Minister of International Trade and Industry, Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz said.
"We have no problem with the deadline, period.
"It is the US deadline, we will just go on and do it at our pace.
"If it cannot be completed (according to the US deadline) so be it. It is not our problem, " she said.
She was responding to a question whether the FTA could be completed according to the US July 2007 deadline, at the Forum on International Trade in Professional Services in Apec Economies, here.
Rafidah urged critics to stop talking about Malaysia losing out in FTAs because all the negotiations were done thoroughly.
"There are more to gain in FTAs. For example, the FTA with Japan. It’s not just about two or three products but a twin pillar.
"One is market access for goods, mostly in the agriculture sector.
"Second, it’s technical and economic collaborations which will enhance the capacities of Malaysian companies and industries, where the Japanese input will enable us, for example, to upgrade our motor vehicle industry and will provide the expertise that we require in some key areas of industry.
"The public is free to access all the details of the agreements on the Internet," she said.
Rafidah said the same principle applies to the FTA discussions with the US.
"We only had a few meetings so far.
"If everything goes well then we will have an agreement.
"The litmus test is the response of the industry players.
"If they are agreeable to what we do, then others should not say anything. They are our concern and not the armchair critics," she said.
Rafidah said there were no problems with the government procurement process as the details were availble to the public.
"If transparency in government procurement process is what is required ... no problems.
"But if anybody wants to impede our right to put forward and implement a particular type of policy, that’s no go.
"We have our own internal policies which are based on social economic development premises," she said.
Rafidah said market access issues would be one of the topics to be discussed at the coming Asean Economic Ministerial Meeting here next week.
