US, Asean to ink greater trade pact

KUALALUMPUR: The United States will sign an agreement this week with the 10-member Asean bloc to allow more trade access to Southeast Asia while ensuring that US intellectual property is better guarded in a region infamous for violations, according to a draft text.

The pact — called the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement, or TIFA — is scheduled to be signed on Friday.

US trade representative Susan Schwab will represent Washington, while Myanmar’s commerce minister Tin Naing Thein is among 10 Asean ministers signing the agreement.

Myanmar’s refusal to speed up democratic reforms and its poor human rights record has previously hindered Asean’s trade ties with Washington, which imposes sanctions on Myanmar. The agreement says all parties must “promote transparency and good governance, including by combating and preventing unlawful activities in international trade and investment,” the draft text showed.

It said the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Washington have to recognise “that effective protection of intellectual property rights encourages technological innovation and investment” but did not give specific measures.
Washington has frequently complained that Asean member nations aren’t doing enough to crack down on software and movie piracy. Malaysia, which is also in separate free trade negotiations with Washington, are among several Asian nations on a US watchlist of intellectual property rights violators.

Malaysian trade minister Rafidah Aziz said on Wednesday that the opaque nation’s political and human rights situations have not hindered its participation in Asean’s economic activities.

“We are going ahead together. In the economic sphere, we don’t think politics at all,” she told reporters after annual ASEAN ministerial talks.

Asean secretary-general Ong Keng Yong said the pact is being called an arrangement, rather than a more formal agreement, to overcome sensitivities toward Myanmar and allow Washington to sign it without congressional approval.

It is a step short of a free trade pact, but facilitates easier movement of trade and investment between Asean and its No 1 trading partner. “It’s basically a tactical move to expedite the process. The loaf may not be as big as we wanted but it’s still a loaf of bread ... it is a good step forward,” Ong had earlier said.

Other officials said the agreement will bring in new funds for regional projects and spur investor confidence.
Both Asean and the United States are mindful of China’s rising economic might and the pact may help arrest even more foreign investment from heading to Beijing, despite their differing views over Myanmar, some officials say.