US trade representative pressures ASEAN
on Burma sanctions
By Jon Fernquest |
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab made a rather provocative statement on ASEAN's latest reaction to the the Burma situation:
Current political conditions in Burma make a free-trade deal between the United States and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations impossible in the near term, US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said.The relationship "can't be business as usual," she said as Asean readied for Tuesday's signing of a landmark charter giving the 40-year-old regional grouping legal status and committing the members to pursuing human rights, democracy and a blueprint for economic integration by 2015...
"The issue of Burma did come up, and I expressed our concern," she told reporters. "Asean has special responsibility when it comes to the situation in Burma."
People are still "debating" whether the latest comments by US Trade Representative Susan Schwab constituted a threat to ASEAN or not. On the surface it seems to propose a sort of economic sanction for those not willing to economic sanction. The Bangkok Post editorial reads the statement as being less threatening than it seems to be on the surface:
"US Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in Singapore on Tuesday that the current situation in Burma makes a free-trade deal between Asean and the US impossible in the near term. She also said Asean has a special responsibility for the situation in Burma. Whether her statement was meant as a warning for Asean to change its attitude on Burma is debatable. But the message is clear: the United States is not happy with Asean's handling of the Burmese issue."
The US Senate voted unanimously last Friday to urge Asean to suspend Burma until the regime shows respect for human rights, but ASEAN has rejected this approach. Asean leaders also called off a briefing by UN envoy Ibrahim Gambari after Burma stated that it wished to deal directly with the UN.
US Trade Representative Susan Schwab met with ASEAN economic ministers earlier this week to discuss progress under the Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFF) between ASEAN and the US.
TIFA is a preliminary step to free trade agreements and was signed with ASEAN in August 2006. The US has TIFA arrangements with Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and Malaysia and a full free trade agreement with Singapore. The Voice of America has a much longer version of the statement. (Source: Bangkok Post Breaking News, 22-11-07; Editorial, 22-11-07)
Vocabulary: ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) - organisation promoting political and economic cooperation and integration among the countries of Southeast Asia (See Wikipedia)
Trade and Investment Framework Arrangement (TIFA) - a trade agreement creating a framework for expanding trade and resolving outstanding disputes between countries, an important step towards establishing Free Trade Agreement (FTA) (Read description at US Department of State and TIFA between US and ASEAN)
provocative - made in order to provoke a reaction
urge - try hard to persuade someonoe to do something
suspend - temporarily halt, temporarily stop doing
a briefing - a short meeting to provide information about something
in the near term - in the near future
business as usual - doing business as you usually do it
a landmark charter - a charter that is an important event in its history
give legal status - makes its decisions legally binding on members
a blueprint for - a plan providing guidelines for
integration - become closely linked and part of one unified whole
change its attitude - change the general way it thinks about issues
debatable - not necessarily certain, people could disagree and debate about it
sanctions - punishments
constituted a threat - many things taken together is judged to be a threat
regime - non-democrative government
envoy - official messenger
preliminary - preparing before the real thing
