KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia (Reuters) - Southeast Asian nations urged the United States on Thursday to dismantle trade barriers at a meeting marked by disagreements over international commerce and Myanmar's military government.
Representatives of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and U.S. officials ended a two-day meeting in Malaysia's capital Kuala Lumpur which delegates said had focused largely on economic matters.
ASEAN highlighted U.S. trade practices which "created barriers and discriminated against ASEAN exports to the U.S. market and urged the U.S. to address these concerns," the two sides said in a joint press statement at the end of the meeting.
An Asian participant said U.S. non-tariff barriers were hurting ASEAN exports of rubber gloves, timber, palm oil and shrimp, among other products.
"The U.S. is not doing enough," the delegate said.
ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.
The group also voiced concern over U.S. biological patents on rice and tropical plants, and proposed the joint development of products using ASEAN resources and U.S. technical expertise, the joint statement said.
The United States cited violations of intellectual property rights in ASEAN members states, and urged the region's nations to modernize customs procedures and liberalize their air services.
The meeting was co-chaired by Malaysian Foreign Ministry Secretary-General Abdul Kadir Mohamad and U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary for East Asia and Pacific Affairs Ralph Boyce.
Disagreement Over Myanmar
While welcoming bilateral assistance, ASEAN urged the United States to contribute financing to regional projects in such areas as the environment, science and technology and human resources, delegates said.
"ASEAN acknowledged the bilateral assistance provided by the U.S. to some member countries but called for greater participation of the U.S. at the regional level," the joint statement said.
ASEAN officials said the United States had stopped providing funds to association projects in part because of objections to Myanmar's military government.
The two sides agreed to disagree over the Myanmar regime.
"The United States noted that the situation in Myanmar remained a source of instability in the region," the joint statement said.
"ASEAN noted the on-going efforts of Myanmar in promoting peace, tranquillity and stability in the region."
The United States marked the 10th anniversary of aborted elections in Myanmar last week by endorsing the struggle for democracy in the country. Myanmar then accused Washington of misunderstanding its process of democratization.
The Southeast Asian nations urged the United States to "strongly support and facilitate efforts toward the early membership of Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam" in the World Trade Organization (WTO).
Reiterating an oft-stated stand, the Asian nations said "trade matters should not be linked to labor and other non-trade related issues." Many developing nations fear the United States will try to link trade benefits to labor rights in a new round of global trade talks.
The United States told the meeting that it would be possible to launch a new round this year, "but this would require flexibility of all members.":
