US, ASEAN trade ministers to discuss market opening efforts
- From: Chim <ChimS1@xxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:51:26 -0700 (PDT)
US, ASEAN trade ministers to discuss market opening efforts
1 hour, 52 minutes ago
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said Monday
she would meet Southeast Asian counterparts to review progress of a
trade and investment initiative and the Doha Round of global trade
talks.
The meeting on the US-Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) will be held in
Bali, Indonesia from May 1 to 4 as a follow up to talks held in
November, Schwab's office said in a statement.
The United States inked the TIFA in August 2006 with the 10-member
ASEAN in a deal seen as a precursor to a full free-trade agreement.
Under the TIFA, the United States and ASEAN would have a formal
ministerial dialogue aimed at expanding trade and investment.
"Building on our TIFA talks in November, we will take stock of the
progress we have made with our ASEAN partners and lay the groundwork
for our joint efforts going forward," Schwab said.
"We will also discuss how best to maximize the prospects of a near-
term breakthrough in the Doha Round negotiations," she added.
Trade between the United States and ASEAN, which comprises Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has grown significantly during the
past decade.
ASEAN was the fifth largest export market for the United States in
2007, with US exports totaling 61 billion dollars, according to the
statement.
In addition, US foreign direct investment in ASEAN countries reached
99 billion dollars in 2006, up 13 percent from the previous year,
according to latest available US data.
The statement said Schwab would meet with the ASEAN ministers as well
as her counterparts from Australia and New Zealand to help achieve a
"successful market-opening outcome" on the WTO negotiations.
The WTO's Doha round of talks to reduce trade barriers was launched in
the Qatari capital in November 2001 with the aim of reaching a deal by
2004, but has foundered ever since, principally in disputes between
developed and developing countries on agricultural subsidies and
industrial tariffs.
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