ATR Commends Plans to Pursue U.S.-Malaysia Free Trade Agreement

Agreement will open new markets and benefit consumers

WASHINGTON — Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) today applauded plans to begin negotiations on
what will be the third free trade agreement between the U.S. and a Southeast Asian country, opening new markets for U.S. exports to Malaysia. The U.S. hopes to have completed negotiations by the end of the year.

The agreement will eliminate trade and investment barriers that currently exist between the United States and its tenth largest trading partner. The U.S. is Malaysia’s number one foreign market and number one source of investment.

“This is yet another positive step in the Bush Administration’s tireless pursuit of free trade”
said taxpayer advocate Grover Norquist, who heads Americans for Tax Reform (ATR) in Washington, D.C. “A free trade agreement with Malaysia will not only create new markets for U.S. goods, but will also be an important step in maintaining security in Southeast Asia.”

The United States has already negotiated free trade agreements with Australia, Bahrain, Chile,
Colombia, Costa Rica, the Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Morocco,
Nicaragua, Oman, Peru and Singapore.