US To Launch Joint Sectoral Negotiations With Four Countries

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

05 February 2008

US Trade Representative Susan C. Schwab announced this week that the United States will join negotiations on investment and financial services set to begin in March between Singapore, Chile, New Zealand and Brunei, known as the “P-4” group of countries.

These four countries have negotiated their own Free Trade Agreement (FTA), the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership, based largely on the United States’ FTAs with Singapore and Chile.

While the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement entered into force in 2006, the investment and financial services chapters remain to be negotiated.

“We see these investment and financial services negotiations as an opportunity to further our engagement with countries committed to high-standard trade agreements,” explained Ambassador Schwab, continuing:

“This initiative also will provide another opportunity for the United States to participate in the regional trade architecture that is emerging in the vitally important Asia-Pacific region.”

As it begins investment and financial services negotiations with the P-4 countries, the United States will also begin a detailed exploratory process to determine whether it should participate in the full Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership.

The Administration will hold consultations on this proposal with Congress and a wide array of stakeholders over the coming months.

Participation could provide a pathway to broader Asia-Pacific regional economic integration with like-minded countries committed to high-standard agreements.

The United States is already pursuing further regional economic integration in the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation forum (APEC) through intensive exploration of the prospect of a Free Trade Area of the Asia- Pacific (FTAAP), as well as through bilateral FTAs, such at the pending agreement with South Korea.

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