SINGAPORE, July 23 (AFP): The United States is not ruling out a free-trade agreement (FTA) with Southeast Asia but it is too early to discuss the issue, Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in remarks published today.
In an interview with The Straits Times in Singapore, Schwab said Washington was focused on using the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) inked with ASEAN last year as a base to boost further cooperation.
"In the past, we had used the TIFA format as a building block to a free-trade agreement," Schwab told the newspaper.
"At some point, we could build towards an ASEAN-wide FTA. I don't think any of us has ruled that out, but at this stage of the game, it is premature talking about it," she said.
The US inked the TIFA in August 2006 with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), a deal seen as a precursor to a full free-trade agreement.
US downplays trade deal with ASEAN
FE Team | Published: July 24, 2007 00:00:00 | Updated: February 01, 2018 00:00:00
Share if you like