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US hopes to conclude FTA with Malaysia by June '07 
Posted on Monday, October 10, 2005 - 12:00 AM

The United States hopes to conclude any possible Free Trade Agreement (FTA) with Malaysia by June 2007, said Assistant US Trade Representative (USTR) for Southeast Asia and Pacific Affairs Barbara Weisel.

"The Trade Promotion Authority expires in June 2007. So we would prefer for an FTA with Malaysia to be concluded by then. It is our intention to conclude any FTAs that we were to initiate now in time to get through to Congress before the legislation expires. So that would mean negotiating the agreement within that timeframe," Weisel told reporters in Kula Lumpur on 10 October 2005.

The US Trade Promotion Authority Act grants the President of the US fast-track authority to enter into and conclude trade negotiations with other countries.