Cabinet To Decide On Some Of Malaysia-US FTA Issues
The latest position of the Malaysia-United States free trade arrangement (FTA) negotiations will be presented to the Cabinet, said International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Rafidah Aziz Thursday.
She said the Cabinet ministers were briefed on the negotiations yesterday but there were certain things that would have to be decided later by the Cabinet. "There are some things which we didn't decide, which will be decided at the Cabinet level when I present the papers. The cabinet will relook and decide," she told a press conference after chairing the Wanita Umno Exco meeting, here today.
Rafidah said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who chaired the meeting yesterday, had indicated that Malaysia wanted to do its best to work within the timeframe provided. The US is keen to conclude talks by March, ahead of the expiry of President George Bush's Trade Promotion Authority in July this year.
But several issues have yet to be sorted out.
"For as long as the basic issues that are non-negotiable -- Bumiputera policy, sovereign right of government to make policy - as long as things like that are not compromised, the rest can be negotiated," she said.
At the briefing yesterday, there were 58 outstanding issues, of which 16 issues involved the Ministry of Domestic and Consumer Affairs, while others involved the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, the Human Resources Ministry and several others.
"It is not MITI's position alone, it is the position of every ministry and agency involved that constitutes Malaysia's position. "So..it is very important that every ministry and agency concerned, understand the full implications of the position they put forward for the Cabinet and for the government to consider," Rafidah said.
Asked whether Malaysia wanted the FTA more than the US, she said: "It's like getting married, do you want to get married more than he does?"
After a very detailed and technical briefing yesterday, Rafidah said she received a call from US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab from Washington who had indicated that the US was also committed to resuming talks in order to complete the negotiations. She said Susan would direct her chief negotiator, Barbara Weisel to discuss with MITI's secretary-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Mamat as to when to continue their negotiations. The talks may not be the whole full-scale thing but more of discussions on issues that require negotiating. Others could be resolved via phone, she said.
A news report today said that several ministries which were involved in the FTA talks have been given a week to submit their views to the Cabinet for further action. (Bernama)
***** The moment one side declares that there are non-negotiable issues then things start to get a little tricky. Malaysia must hold steadfast to her sovereign right to make policies which we consider appropriate. It is not for the United States to dictate policy to us. On that score we simply cannot afford to barter away our inalienable rights. No agreement however generous, profitable or advantageous to us is worth losing that.
Having said that, if the Never Ending Policy (NEP) is the stumbling block, then the government should reconsider certain aspects of it and create a system which is not so patently unfair to the non-Malays. The NEP as it stands is an affront to any nation which espouses human rights for all. It's not as if that the Americans are unaware of this officially sanctioned and institutionalized discrimination that the NEP actually is. That they would love to remove this big blot in our democratic credentials is understandable. But does our government have the political will or even sees the need to dismantle or at least modify this ugly monument to neo-apartheid?
Image - Source
She said the Cabinet ministers were briefed on the negotiations yesterday but there were certain things that would have to be decided later by the Cabinet. "There are some things which we didn't decide, which will be decided at the Cabinet level when I present the papers. The cabinet will relook and decide," she told a press conference after chairing the Wanita Umno Exco meeting, here today.
Rafidah said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, who chaired the meeting yesterday, had indicated that Malaysia wanted to do its best to work within the timeframe provided. The US is keen to conclude talks by March, ahead of the expiry of President George Bush's Trade Promotion Authority in July this year.
But several issues have yet to be sorted out."For as long as the basic issues that are non-negotiable -- Bumiputera policy, sovereign right of government to make policy - as long as things like that are not compromised, the rest can be negotiated," she said.
At the briefing yesterday, there were 58 outstanding issues, of which 16 issues involved the Ministry of Domestic and Consumer Affairs, while others involved the Ministry of Agriculture and Agro-based Industries, the Human Resources Ministry and several others.
"It is not MITI's position alone, it is the position of every ministry and agency involved that constitutes Malaysia's position. "So..it is very important that every ministry and agency concerned, understand the full implications of the position they put forward for the Cabinet and for the government to consider," Rafidah said.
Asked whether Malaysia wanted the FTA more than the US, she said: "It's like getting married, do you want to get married more than he does?"
After a very detailed and technical briefing yesterday, Rafidah said she received a call from US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab from Washington who had indicated that the US was also committed to resuming talks in order to complete the negotiations. She said Susan would direct her chief negotiator, Barbara Weisel to discuss with MITI's secretary-general Datuk Abdul Rahman Mamat as to when to continue their negotiations. The talks may not be the whole full-scale thing but more of discussions on issues that require negotiating. Others could be resolved via phone, she said.
A news report today said that several ministries which were involved in the FTA talks have been given a week to submit their views to the Cabinet for further action. (Bernama)
***** The moment one side declares that there are non-negotiable issues then things start to get a little tricky. Malaysia must hold steadfast to her sovereign right to make policies which we consider appropriate. It is not for the United States to dictate policy to us. On that score we simply cannot afford to barter away our inalienable rights. No agreement however generous, profitable or advantageous to us is worth losing that.
Having said that, if the Never Ending Policy (NEP) is the stumbling block, then the government should reconsider certain aspects of it and create a system which is not so patently unfair to the non-Malays. The NEP as it stands is an affront to any nation which espouses human rights for all. It's not as if that the Americans are unaware of this officially sanctioned and institutionalized discrimination that the NEP actually is. That they would love to remove this big blot in our democratic credentials is understandable. But does our government have the political will or even sees the need to dismantle or at least modify this ugly monument to neo-apartheid?
Image - Source
Labels: Discrimination., Never Ending Policy (NEP)
posted by The Malaysian. at 2/15/2007 06:16:00 PM
1 Comments:
I think this is going to end up like a bazaar-style negotiation - nothing is Really non-negotiable...
As a professional working in the export manufacturing industry, I'm very much in support of FTA, as there are many benefits to the economy from increased trade with the US. One area Malaysian made products are totally locked out currently is US government purchases. The US GSA is one of the world's largest single-organisation buyer of general equipment and supplies, and we have 0% participation. Not only that, if US government purchases are significant, say 5-10% of a direct customer's end market, the direct customer may likely not consider Malaysia for the whole 100%, as it is inefficient for them to manage separately for that 5-10% of GSA purchases.
Opponents of FTA have asked, why would anyone want to buy from Malaysia ? My answer is don't denigrate ourselves, many Made In Malaysia products are strong competitors in the international market (forget about Proton- they are practically a government department trying to manufacture cars). We are not the lowest cost producer, neither the most technically advanced. We don't try to compete on such terms. There is still a large international market where people look for mid-priced products, of reasonable quality, delivered on time. We can compete, but it is not easy. There are no free lunches in the international market.
I do accept that FTA can be a double-edged sword. Many sectors in our economy still depend on tariff or non-tariff barriers for their survival. When these are opened up, there may be significant disruptions to businesses and employment.
Hence the exact final agreement would have to be settled with a great deal of care. I'm worried we will end up with a bad treaty in the midst of this rush for the deadline. Rafidah Aziz is going to need a lot of political courage to settle this agreement.
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