The US Chamber of Commerce has come out in strong support of efforts to negotiate free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United Kingdom and Kenya. The one with Kenya may serve as a model for future trade and investment engagement with Africa, it said, urging the US administration to favorably explore these FTAs and continue halted negotiations.
US companies are falling behind in the Asia-Pacific: while US exports to the Asia-Pacific market have steadily increased in recent decades, their market share has been shrinking in relative terms.The US Chamber of Commerce has come out in strong support of efforts to negotiate free trade agreements (FTAs) with the United Kingdom and Kenya. The one with Kenya may serve as a model for future trade and investment engagement with Africa, it said, urging the US administration to favorably explore these FTAs and continue halted negotiations.#
One reason is that a number of countries maintain steep barriers against US exports. A typical Southeast Asian country imposes tariffs that are five times higher than the US average while its duties on agricultural products often soar into the triple digits. In addition, a web of non-tariff and regulatory barriers block market access in many countries.
However, Asia-Pacific nations are clinching preferential trade deals among themselves that have left the United States on the outside, looking in, the chamber noted in a press release.
According to the Asia Regional Integration Centre of the Asian Development Bank, Asian countries have implemented 165 bilateral or regional trade agreements.
Against this backdrop, re-engaging with the 11 countries of the Trans-Pacific Partnership may be the best chance for the United States to secure a level playing field for trade in the Asia-Pacific region, the chamber feels.
The United States should also seek out new trade agreement partners in other regions, the chamber suggested. The list of prospective partners includes emerging markets such as Turkey, Brazil, and a number of countries in Africa as well as Southeast Asia.
In a number of these prospective partner countries, diverse obstacles will have to be addressed before formal negotiations can be launched, but even in such cases, addressing even these initial obstacles brings benefits.
Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DS)
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