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Malaysia and the United States Friday concluded a fifth and vital round of FTA talks in Sabah during which "difficult issues" had arisen, said US Assistant Trade Representative Barbara Weisel.
<P>"While progress was made on a number of areas, there
were a few key areas where unfortunately only limited progress was made,"
Weisel told reporters in a video conference.</P><P>"There are strong sensitivities
on both sides. We think that we can close the gap between the two positions but
it is going to take some work on both sides," she said, without elaborating.</P><P>Washington
has been racing to conclude the FTA by the end of March to give the US Congress
the requisite time of three months to consider the deal.</P><P>The FTA must be
passed before US President George W Bush on July 1 loses his trade promotion authority
which allows deals to be fast-tracked, with fears a Democrat-controlled congress
will not renew the authority.</P><P>"I think it would be very difficult to
conclude an FTA with the deadline we have set," said Weisel.</P><P><B>A deal
breaker</B></P><P>She said an FTA was still "achievable", although no
date had been set for further talks.</P><P>"We anticipate further dialogue
with Malaysian authorities over the next few weeks but we have not scheduled a
round for now," Weisel said.</P><P>Malaysia’s Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz
Friday said both sides had isolated "no-go" areas she would discuss
with her counterpart US Trade Representative Susan Schwab.</P><P>"I and Susan
will look at the sensitive issues (where) both will not move and we will decide.
Are we going to remove it from the table, are we going to find some middle path,
or what," she told reporters.</P><P>Rafidah indicated market access issues
– including the entry of US companies into Malaysia’s protected finance, auto
and services sectors – were areas under discussion.</P><P>She also insisted discussions
would not include Malaysia’s positive discrimination policies for its majority
ethnic Malays and indigenous groups, which sees them favoured in lucrative state
contracts.</P><P>"If it’s a deal breaker, so be it … but fortunately for
now, it’s not," said Rafidah. – AFP</P><P><I>Source: http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/63211</I>
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