Kuala Lumpur, August 14 :

Malaysia’s trade minister said today free trade negotiations with the United States are on track but the government will not be rushed to conclude talks by the year-end.

Rafidah Aziz said negotiations are focusing on areas to be liberalized, and any difficulties will only arise later when both sides discuss details such as the percentage of tariff cuts.

“At the moment, there are no difficulties,” she said, “We are not running to complete talks. We just take our pace. If it cannot be completed by the deadline, so be it.”

Washington hopes to end talks by the year-end and send it to Congress for approval before July 2007, when president George W Bush’s authority to negotiate trade deals that require congressional approval expires.

Rafidah reiterated Malaysia would not compromise on its policy on allocating government contracts for ethnic Malay-owned companies under a decades-old affirmative action policy.

American negotiators have said Washington wants transparency in ‘government procurement,” or awarding of Malaysian government contracts, greater imports of foreign cars, and better access to financial markets.

“If government procurement transparency is what’s required, no problem but if anybody tells us we like for you to change your policies, the answer is a big fat no,” Rafidah said, “It is the government’s sovereign right to formulate and implement policies for its own national interest.”

Rafidah hit out at critics of Malaysia’s free trade negotiations with the United States and Japan, who fear Malaysia will lose out in such agreements. “The litmus test for us is the industries, why should anyone complain when industries welcome it and say this is the best thing for them?” she added.

Malaysia is the United States’ 10th largest trading partner with $44 billion in two-way trade. Officials predict it will double by 2010 once the free trade agreement is in place.

A free trade pact between Malaysia and Japan took effect from July 13, ending tariffs on nearly all manufactured and agricultural goods between the two markets within 10 years.