U.S. firms told to keep ASEAN market share

U.S. firms told to keep ASEAN market share

WASHINGTON (AFP): U.S. firms should pay more attention to
thriving ASEAN countries if they want to avoid losing out to
Japanese and European competitors, U.S. ambassadors to the region
said.

"It's a question of awareness," said U.S. Ambassador to
Malaysia John Malott.

Countries in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam -- are small in size but large
in commercial power, Malott said.

"We need to make American business a lot more aware of the
reality of growth, that they need to start paying more attention
to ... Southeast Asia. We are losing a lot to the Europeans," he
told reporters here Friday.

U.S. companies also need to learn how to do business in the
region, Malott said, which means regular networking, frequent
high-level visits, and long-term partnerships.

Both Malott and U.S. Ambassador to Thailand William Itoh
suggested that Washington would do well to stop cutting back its
diplomatic postings in the region as part of U.S. budget-cutting
efforts.

"I'm afraid it creates a perception that the United States is
disengaging, " Itoh said, citing the recent closure of two U.S.
consulates in Thailand.

U.S. ambassadors to the ASEAN countries have just completed an
annual tour of meetings and speaking engagements in the United
States, sponsored by the non-profit U.S.-ASEAN Council.

Ernie Bower, president of the Washington-based U.S.-ASEAN
Council, said U.S. businesses were also eager for the United
States to negotiate tax treaties with Malaysia, Singapore,
Thailand, and Vietnam.

The absence of tax treaties make selling U.S. products and
employing American expatriates in these countries far more
expensive, he said.

Taken together, ASEAN countries rank third among U.S. trading
partners, just after the European Union and Japan, with an
estimated gross domestic product of about 550 billion dollars
last year.

The Asian Development Bank has projected growth rates among
them this year ranging from 5.5 percent for the Philippines to
9.8 percent for Vietnam.