U.S. mulls FTAs with ASEAN members

U.S. mulls FTAs with ASEAN members

Associated Press, Manila

The United States would be willing to open free-trade negotiations with some members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a senior U.S. official said on Thursday.

Washington would be willing to talk on establishing free-trade deals with Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Cambodia and the Philippines, according to Barbara Weisel, assistant U.S. trade representative in the Asia-Pacific region

The negotiations would fall under a U.S. program offering free-trade deals with ASEAN members that already have a Trade and Investment Framework Agreement with Washington and are World Trade Organization (WTO) members, she said.

The United States has completed a free-trade agreement with Singapore and is now in early negotiations with another ASEAN member Thailand.

No timeframe has been set for negotiations with the countries, Weisel said, pointing out that U.S. standards are high.

Weisel warned however that the negotiation process would be difficult because it involves a strong commitment to structural reforms and liberalization in respective countries.

The objective is to "tie our futures in a way that we have common goals" that will result in a win-win opportunity for both sides, she said.

The 10-member ASEAN also includes Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, which groups together a combined market of about 500 million in population.