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talks to forge a free trade agreement with Southeast Asia, ahead of
President Barack Obama's maiden trip to the region. A senior US
senator will propose a resolution on Tuesday encouraging Obama
administration officials to initiate the negotiations, warning about
competition from China and other powers who have already sealed pacts
with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean). "The United
States should proceed to develop a comprehensive strategy toward
engaging Asean in serious FTA discussions," said Senator Dick Lugar,
the Republican party leader in the powerful Senate foreign relations
committee. Lugar admitted that the free trade endeavor would be
"complex and have possible challenges to negotiation given the
varying levels of economic development and open markets among Asean
countries." But he pointed out that "China, India, Australia, New
Zealand and South Korea have already finalized FTAs with Asean and
are sharpening a competitive edge over the US in Southeast Asia."
Ongoing trade sanctions with military-ruled Myanmar, one of 10 Asean
member states, should not deter US efforts to reach an FTA with the
rest of the grouping, which also include Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia,
Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam,
Lugar said.
