US-ABC HAILS FTA NOD, URGES FOCUS ON TPP

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 (Bernama) -- The US-Asean Business Council (US-ABC) has
hailed the US government's approval of free trade agreements (FTAs) with South
Korea, Panama and Columbia.

In a Washington-datelined press statement made available here Friday, its
president, Alexander Feldman, said this would help US exports grow and create
jobs both in the US and abroad.

"The council is pleased at the passage of these important agreements," he
said.

The FTAs were approved by the Congress (US House of Representatives and
the US Senate) on Wednesday.

Feldman said the bipartisan support for these FTAs showed that the US'
commitment to free trade has not wavered.

"Now that this important milestone has been reached, we urge the US
government to turn its focus to the successful completion of the Trans-Pacific
Partnership (TPP) negotiations," Feldman said.

The TPP is a high-standards FTA which includes the US, Australia, Brunei
Darussalam, Chile, Malaysia, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam.

The members include four of the 10 countries in the Association of
South-East Asian Nations (Asean), one of the most dynamic markets in the world
and
currently US' fourth largest export market.

US exports to Asean currently support over 425,000 American jobs, and the
successful completion of the TPP has the potential to accelerate US-Asean trade
by breaking down barriers between the US and key Asean members.

President Barack Obama’s National Export Initiative (NEI) calls for the US
to double its exports by 2015.

Nearly 60 per cent of US exports currently go to the Asia-Pacific, and these
will only grow as Asia continues to be the engine of the world’s economy.

As such, the council said, the TPP was an essential step to achieving the
goals of the NEI and building US' future.

-- BERNAMA