Atlasia-Malaysia Free Trade Bill

[Democratic Hawk]

I, hereby, introduce the following amendment:

3. This Agreement requires a commitment on the part of Malaysia to make progress towards becoming a fully functioning liberal democracy, with respect for political freedoms and civil rights. This will be monitored by the Secretary of State in accordance with the terms of the Foreign Policy Review Act. Should he determine that Malaysia is regressing on its commitment, and then he shall either (depending on the severity of the regress):

a. Request that the Senate introduce an appropriate tariff either on:

i. Selected Malaysian goods
ii. All Malaysian goods

b. Request that the Senate revoke the Agreement with Malaysia in its entirety

The Federation of Malaysia is subject to both partial military and partial economic restrictions with Atlasia. In October 2003, however, Mahathir, who regularly offended Western nations, particularly Atlasia, retired as Prime Minister and was succeeded by Badawi, who has continued with growth oriented economic policies and adopted a less belligerent stance on foreign policy

Nevertheless, Malaysia is effectively a one-party state, indeed, the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition controls 92% of the seats in Parliament, a situation that even Mahathir recently lamented. Furthermore, the national media is largely controlled by the government and the ruling Barisan Nasional, along with the print media, which, too, is tightly regulated by the government in accordance with the Printing and Presses Act of 1984

Therefore, I feel that my amendment is appropriate

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

Aye

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

Aye.

Before we vote on this bill proper, I would like to address a few things.  When we talk free trade with Malaysia, we are opening the same can of worms that is prevalent with India.  Malaysia is another country where manufacturing costs are much cheaper, and should this bill pass, even with the amendment, it could have a negative long-run effect on Atlasian workers, especially those in the manufacturing sector.  I would entertain support of the bill if it were adjusted to protect these workers.

I couldn't really suggest my usual amendment for the Atlasia-India Free Trade Bill since India is more complex (i.e. not so straight forward). Furthermore, given India's shear velocity I thought it important that we did consider the economic side of things. I suspect that economic conditions in Malaysia's manufacturing industry are somewhat better than in India, though I may be mistaken

We have also recently passed a number of Free Trade Acts, where economic conditions are less favourable to our own, so I don't see why Malaysia should be any different from, for example, Morocco and Thailand

In the meantime, however, I do think that the Fourteenth Senate should address 'outsourcing' and seriously consider measures designed to give incentives for those who invest in Atlasia and don't outsource. Perhaps, we could a "stick and carrot" approach to this too

Nevertheless, I remain committed to free trade and think that the "stick and carrot" approach the Senate has adopted in adding such a moral dimension (i.e. the 'democracy' amendment) is the best way forward, for the most part

Still, it might be advisable to take a rain check on existing free trade agreements, before accelerating the process any further, to assess their impact on the Atlasian economy

'Hawk'

[Democratic Hawk]

Aye

'Hawk'