Getting Malaysia off the “trade cheats” list of the US and kick-starting talks on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) will be among the issues on the cards as US and Malaysian officials meet in Washington this week, The Star reported.
Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Datuk Seri Mustapa Mohamed, who accompanied Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak on his working visit to the US from September 11-13, will hold separate discussions with US Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross.
In March, the US labelled 16 countries as “trade cheats” that had caused it to face a trade deficit of almost 50 billion USD. Malaysia is included in the list, according to the article.
Malaysian trade officials said the visit would be an opportunity for Malaysia to explain the trade data discrepancy recorded, and that Malaysia’s contribution to the US trade deficit in goods in 2016 was only 3.37 percent.
Trade between Malaysia and the US increased by 20.3 percent to over 22 billion USD between January and July this year. Exports grew by 11.1 percent and imports went up by 33.1 percent during the period.
Last week, PM Najib also announced that Malaysia and the US may look into forging a bilateral trade arrangement following the US’s pullout from the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement. - VNA
Malaysia hopes to get off “trade cheats” list of US
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