Rafidah denies US talks will hurt rice farmers
Published: Jan 12, 2007 11:10 AM | Updated: Jan 29, 2008 6:21 PM
Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz dismissed concerns a free trade deal being negotiated with the United States would damage the livelihood of rice farmers.
The minister says rice has been excluded from the free trade agreement talks between the US and Malaysia.
Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz dismissed concerns a free trade deal being negotiated with the United States would damage the livelihood of rice farmers.
The US and Malaysia this week started their fourth round of talks in San Francisco for a free trade agreement (FTA), but Rafidah said rice was had been excluded from the negotiations, the Bernama news agency reported.
She also said Malaysia last year only imported 346.8 metric tonnes of rice worth RM1.32 million from the US.
"The amount was less than 0.1 percent of Malaysia's overall rice import in 2006," Rafidah was quoted as saying from the Philippines, where she is attending a Southeast Asian regional summit.
Malaysian farmers, activists and opposition groups have called for a halt to the negotiations, arguing the deal lacks transparency and that imports of cheap US produce could hurt farmers, especially those growing rice.
Rice farmers have launched a campaign to collect signatures against the FTA, which Washington is aiming to complete before US President George W Bush's trade-negotiating authority expires in June.
The US and Malaysia this week started their fourth round of talks in San Francisco for a free trade agreement (FTA), but Rafidah said rice was had been excluded from the negotiations, the Bernama news agency reported.
She also said Malaysia last year only imported 346.8 metric tonnes of rice worth RM1.32 million from the US. "The amount was less than 0.1 percent of Malaysia's overall rice import in 2006," Rafidah was quoted as saying from the Philippines, where she is attending a Southeast Asian regional summit.
Malaysian farmers, activists and opposition groups have called for a halt to the negotiations, arguing the deal lacks transparency and that imports of cheap US produce could hurt farmers, especially those growing rice.
Rice farmers have launched a campaign to collect signatures against the FTA, which Washington is aiming to complete before US President George W Bush's trade-negotiating authority expires in June.
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