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They met earlier, Tuesday to share their views on the mutual benefits and opportunities
that a free trade agreement between Malaysia and the United States could provide
to both nations.
<p>They were members of the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), US-Malaysia
Business Coalition, American Malaysian Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM Malaysia),
Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MICCI) and the US-Asean
Business Council, which represent several thousand companies with tens of thousands
of members in Malaysia and the US.</p>
<p>The organisations urged the US and Malaysian negotiating teams and relevant
government officials within agencies that are affected by the FTA to reach a
swift and successful conclusion to the FTA talks.</p>
<p>"The overall gains to each partner country should be positive, and we
believe the US-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement will result in a win-win outcome
for both nations," the group said a joint statement.</p>
<p>"We are aware that in a bilateral FTA, there must be mutual benefits to
the partner countries," they said.</p>
<p>The group said while there could be individual concessions as evident in any
negotiation, it should not be regarded as a zero sum scenario.</p>
<p>The spirit of the FTA should extend beyond trade and investments, they said.</p>
<p>According to the group, the successful negotiation of a comprehensive USMFTA
could play an important role in supporting the international trade and foreign
direct investment components of the Ninth Malaysia Plan.</p>
<p>It would also help strengthen Malaysia’s global and regional competitiveness
in line with the nation’s aspiration of achieving global competitiveness as
outlined in the Third Industrial Master Plan, they added.</p>
<p>The organisations said the US is Malaysia’s largest investor, with more than
RM104 billion (US$28.8 billion) in cumulative investments in the country, while
Malaysia is the US 10th largest trading partner.</p>
<p>Completing an FTA would help to raise the profile of the Malaysia brand among
American businesspeople, policy-makers, and consumers, helping to ensure significant
business expansion in both countries and an increase in future foreign direct
investment (FDI) by American companies operating in Malaysia, and those who
are thinking about starting new operations here, they said.</p>
<p>They believed that a mutually beneficial agreement could be negotiated which
provides greater transparency in the decision-making process when procurement
policies are formulated and allows government procurement to be an effective
socio-economic development policy instrument.</p>
<p>The US government procurement market is worth more than US$250 billion (RM900
billion) per year and there are opportunities for Malaysian-based businesses
to partner with their US counterparts, in order to tap this sizeable market,
which can be accessed with the signing of the FTA.</p>
<p>Cooperation programmes and capacity building should also be incorporated into
the FTA, the group said.– BERNAMA
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