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Thursday November 19, 2009

Envoy: Trans-Pacific Partnership a future model of trade cooperation

By DAVID TAN


GEORGE TOWN: US ambassador to Malaysia James Keith says the Trans-Pacific Partnership is the future model of trade cooperation, and Malaysia should consider joining the pact.

“We are going to spend a lot of energy studying it. Malaysia should study it closely too,” he told a press conference after a closed-door dialogue with Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng and representatives of the American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce.

Members of the Trans-Pacific Partnership currently are Singapore, Chile, New Zealand, and Brunei.

James Keith: ... ‘We are going to spend a lot of energy studying it.’ On the left is Chief Minister of Penang Lim Guan Eng.

The United States, which already has free trade agreements with Singapore and Chile, would have to reach deals with New Zealand and Brunei to become a member.

Vietnam and Australia are planning to join the pact. Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said at the recent Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit that Malaysia would study the regional free trade pact.

“US-Malaysia bilateral ties will continue growing regardless of the form it will take in future,” Keith said, adding that the free trade agreement (FTA) talks between the two countries have yet to be finalised. FTA talks with the US have stalled for more than three years.

Keith said US firms would continue to invest abroad despite proposed reforms to tax the earnings of US multinational corporations, which are expected to come into effect in 2011. “US companies are committed to an open international investment policy,” he said.

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