While some quarters are exulting over the apparently faltering US-Malaysia free trade agreement (FTA) talks, Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) has warned civil society groups not let their guard down just yet.

SAM co-ordinator Mohd Nizam Mahshar said it was obvious that both governments are keen on signing the agreement and that compromise on contentious issues is still a possibility.

He said a deal may still be signed before the end of next month, the deadline that would allow US President George W Bush to 'fast-track' the agreement and present it for congressional approval within three months.

The fifth round of negotiations ended last Friday in Sabah without the next round being scheduled. Both sides have expressed doubts that an agreement can be reached before the deadline.

"However, that does not mean there will not be a FTA," said Nizam, citing reports of a possible compromise between the US Trade Representative (USTR) and the Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) on such key issues as government procurement, investment and the services sector.

An online publication last week disclosed that US negotiators had expressed willingness to allow Malaysia to reserve more of its government procurement market for certain domestic suppliers in return for better concessions in banking, telecommunications and hospital services.

Miti is expected to brief the cabinet tomorrow on the 'deal breakers' that will decide whether there is any point in proceeding with the talks or to stop the talks altogether.

Public pressure

Other groups, meanwhile, spoke of success in having caused the impasse by forcing the government to consider more seriously the implications of an FTA with the US.

Anti-America-Malaysia FTA coalition chairperson Xavier Jeyakumar said the impasse was a result of the "people's pressure" on the government to tone down its enthusiasm for the FTA.

Echoing him, Parti Sosialis Malaysia national treasurer A Sivarajan said there has been a lot of change in the government's stance since it first entered into the talks last year.

"Minister for International Trade and Industry Rafidah Aziz at first appeared quite confident about how the FTA would bring in more trade, saying it would not affect sovereignty and so on," he said.

"But I think we've succeeded in putting enough pressure on the ministry to look more closely at the FTA by showing how other countries have fared badly on account of their FTA with the US, and making the government consider whether it really will benefit Malaysia."

Groups of farmers, fishermen, workers and people living with HIV/Aids have all joined the organised protests against the FTA negotiations.