Free Trade Agreement between Singapore and Malaysia

9. (back) AFL-CIO. The cost of unfair trade. c2003. www.aflcio.org/issuespolitics/globaleconomy/trade.cfm. The deal was backed by the business community and consumer organisations, but was criticised by workers and some environmental interests. Specific concerns raised include sanctions restrictions on intractable disputes over labour and environmental issues, the Integrated Procurement Initiative, potential capital controls, temporary visas, and access to U.S. chewing gum exports. A fundamental political question regarding the free trade agreement is whether the United States should conduct free trade and investment relations on a bilateral basis, rather than maintaining existing trade and investment practices on both sides or pursuing more liberalized trade relations through other means. It is also a question of the extent to which the wording of the free trade agreement should serve as a model for other agreements. In June 2003, the United States International Trade Commission (ITC) published the results of its study on the likely economic impact of a free trade agreement between the United States and Singapore.

(10) It concluded that the macroeconomic impact of the FTA tariff reductions on US trade, production and economic well-being is likely to be negligible to very small. The report states that, given the open trade relationship, the small bilateral trade and investment flows relative to U.S. trade and investment in the world, and Singapore`s small economy relative to that of the U.S., this is not an unexpected result. At the sectoral level, the report concluded that some sectors of the U.S. economy would likely face increased competition from imports from Singapore, while other sectors would likely experience increased export opportunities in Singapore. However, given Singapore`s small economy and small market size, such increases would come from a very small base and would therefore have minimal impact on production, prices or employment in the RELEVANT US sectors. Until 2016, ITC estimated that the impact on U.S. exports of vegetables, fruits and nuts was greater; meat; and other processed foods. For U.S. imports, the impact on electronics and other machinery and equipment would most likely be greater. It was estimated that U.S. imports of textiles, clothing and leather goods would not increase significantly due to the rules of origin requirements set out in the free trade agreement.

Members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have established the ASEAN Free Trade Area. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) is a trading bloc agreement to support local production in all ASEAN countries. The main objective of AFTA is to increase ASEAN`s competitive advantage as a production base in the global market. The secondary objective is to attract more foreign direct investment to ASEAN. The common effective preferential tariff and the elimination of tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade among ASEAN members are the main instruments for achieving its objectives. In 2018, ASEAN together represents a market with a GDP of more than $3.1 trillion and a population of 655 million people. The ASEAN members are: Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. Through ASEAN, Malaysia has concluded regional free trade agreements with China, Japan, Korea, India, Australia and New Zealand and also participates in the ASEAN Merchandise Trade Agreement (ATIGA). Other trade agreements concluded are: Preferential Trade System-Organization of the Islamic Conference (GST-OIC) and Development of Eight (D-8) Preferential Tariff Agreements (PTAs). The free trade agreements signed until their ratification and entry into force the ASEAN-Hong Kong Free Trade Agreements (AHKFTA) were signed in November 2017 and are expected to enter into force in 2019. The Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (SPLA) was signed on February 4, 2016. Since the official withdrawal of the United States from the TPP in 2017, the other TPP countries have concluded the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).

The CPTPP was signed on March 8, 2018 by the 11 participating countries – Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam. The signing of the agreement means that these countries will begin the process of domestic ratification to bring the agreement into force. The CPTPP was adopted by these countries on December 30, 2018: Australia, Canada, Japan, Mexico, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam on January 14, 2019. The CPTPP will enter into force for Brunei Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia and Peru 60 days after the completion of their respective ratification processes. In the case of Malaysia, the new government is still evaluating the agreement and has not yet set a concrete date for ratification. Free trade agreements under negotiation: increasing trade, investment and economic efficiency; The e-commerce text of the Free Trade Agreement makes binding a number of obligations that are only voluntary or temporary within the World Trade Organisation. It reaffirms that all the commitments made in the Agreement with regard to services also extend to the electronic provision of such services, such as. B financial services provided via the Internet. Essentially, both sides agreed on the non-discriminatory treatment of digital products and the permanent exemption status of electronically delivered products. This was the first time that such commitments had been included in an international trade agreement and could set a precedent for services liberalization efforts in the WTO and other free trade agreements.

Trade liberalization in the region by removing both intra-regional and non-tariff barriers has contributed to making ASEAN`s manufacturing sectors more efficient and competitive in the global market. As a result, consumers are able to source from ASEAN`s most efficient producers, creating robust intra-ASEAN trade. According to the free trade agreement, the protection of encrypted program-carrying satellite signals extends both to the signals themselves and to programming. The aim is to prevent the piracy of satellite television programmes. Both sides agreed to criminalize the unauthorized reception and retransmission of satellite signals. The free trade agreement also includes limited liability for Internet Service Providers (ISPs), reflecting the balance struck in the United States. Digital Millennium Copyright Act(28) between the legitimate activities of ISPs and copyright infringement. Essentially, both parties are designed to grant immunity to Internet service providers to comply with notification and removal procedures when suspected copyright infringement material is hosted on their servers. The ASEAN Economic Community (ACS) was first discussed at the Bali Summit in October 2003, where ASEAN leaders declared that ECA should be the goal of regional economic integration by 2020. However, at the 12th ASEAN Summit in January 2007, ASEAN leaders reaffirmed their firm commitment to accelerate the establishment of the ACS by 2015, with the aim of transforming ASEAN into a region where goods, services, investment, skilled labour and the free movement of capital are free.

Other important terms of the agreement appear to be better access to Singapore`s services market by US companies. The agreement not only includes a reduction in regulatory barriers for U.S. subsidiaries operating in Singapore and legal protection similar to that of the U.S., but also ensures that U.S.-based companies can sell their services (such as portfolio management, consulting services, video, music, and electronically delivered software) without border barriers or tariffs. However, the Singaporean market is relatively small and highly competitive. As for the counterterrorism campaign, some of the radical Islamist activity has shifted to Southeast Asia as al-Qaeda has been driven out of Afghanistan. This was manifested in the bombings of 12 September. October 2002 in a Bali nightclub district frequented by Western tourists, as well as in other attacks on civilian and military targets in Indonesia and the Philippines. Some analysts fear that Southeast Asia, with its widespread Muslim population, will become a haven for terrorists, a hotbed for the training of radical Islamists, a source of funding for terrorist operations, and a prime location for so-called “soft terrorist targets” such as hotels, shops and transportation facilities. In December 2001, the media reported that the Singaporean government had arrested members of a Jemaah Islamiah terrorist cell with close ties to al-Qaeda, which reportedly planned to blow up Western embassies. Warships and a bus that carries U.S.

military personnel. (55) Although the FTA would not significantly affect the counter-terrorism campaign, it would create a link between Singapore and the US that could improve cooperation on certain issues (such as terrorist financing and customs controls) and define approaches on issues of interest to the US in for a such as ASEAN, the ASEAN Regional Forum and the Non-Aligned Movement. (56) 36th (back) Commercial Law of 2002 (P.L. 107-210). The law contains negotiation objectives that require negotiators to ensure that the parties do not fail to effectively enforce their environmental laws in a way that affects trade and to subject such breaches to dispute resolution. .