Schwab To Meet With ASEAN Members

by Glen Shapiro, LawAndTax-News.com, New York

21 August 2006

It has emerged that US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab will visit Singapore on August 22 and August 23 and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia on August 23 through August 26 to participate in the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Economic Ministers meeting.

Ambassador Schwab will then visit China for the first time as the United States Trade Representative, from August 27 through August 29, 2006.

"I am looking forward to meeting with my colleagues from Southeast Asia to discuss joint plans for strengthening our trade and investment relationship," stated Ambassador Schwab.

"ASEAN is a one of the most rapidly growing and dynamic regions in the world and a commercially and strategically significant U.S. partner. We view intensifying relations with Southeast Asia as a top priority."

During the meeting, Ambassador Schwab also will discuss with ASEAN ministers, as well as her counterparts from Australia, New Zealand, India, Korea, and Japan, ways to get the World Trade Organization’s Doha Round negotiations back on track.

During her stop in Singapore, Ambassador Schwab will meet with Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong to discuss regional economic and trade issues and to review ongoing developments since the US – Singapore FTA came into force in 2004.

Then, during her stay in Malaysia, Ambassador Schwab plans to meet with Malaysian officials and stakeholders to discuss the United States-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement (FTA) negotiations. The two sides have concluded two rounds of negotiations and have made solid progress toward their goal of concluding a mutually-beneficial agreement by the end of the year.

The United States and Malaysia are preparing for a third round of negotiations in Malaysia during the week of September 18.

During her first visit to China as US Trade Representative, Schwab is scheduled to meet with Commerce Minister Bo Xilai to discuss China’s role in helping to restart the Doha Round negotiations and to urge more progress by China on a number of issues pertaining to its WTO commitments, such as strengthening enforcement of intellectual property rights and increasing access for American goods and services.

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