The US wants more access to Asian car markets

Talks between US officials and their counterparts from South Korea and Malaysia have become bogged down in disputes over access to key markets.

Korea objects to removing barriers on rice imports while Malaysia wants to keep Malay-friendly procurement plans.

The US effectively has less than two months to try to secure agreements.

Clock ticking

President George W Bush's fast-track authority on trade deals, through which he can ask Congress to conduct a single vote on any treaty without making amendments, expires at the end of June.

As the President is required to give legislators 90 days notice before signing any deal, negotiations must be wrapped up by the end of March.

With the Democrats now controlling Congress, that authority may not be extended.

If they want to finish by July, I do not see it happening because there are so many issues to cover Rafidah Aziz, Malaysian trade minister

Concluding bilateral trade deals with key allies is a cornerstone of the Bush administration's policy in Asia.

South Korea is already Washington's seventh-largest trading partner and a free trade deal would represent the largest US agreement of its kind since 1993's North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA).

US and Korean officials have already held six negotiating rounds but have struggled to overcome fundamental differences over the degree to which trade should be opened up and what industries should be covered.

Their latest meeting in Seoul has taken place against a backdrop of protests, with up to 4,000 people demonstrating against measures they believe will hurt key industries such as farming.

'Still upbeat'

Chief US negotiator Wendy Cutler said the two sides had made progress on key sticking points such as access to car and drugs markets, and stressed she was "upbeat" on ironing out an agreement in time.

But Seoul is refusing to give any ground on US demands to reduce agricultural barriers, particularly for rice crops.

The prospect of a free trade deal has aroused much anger in Korea

"The South Korean government has promised the Korean people that rice will be excluded from the talks," Kim Jong-hoon, Korea's chief negotiator, said on Thursday.

"This promise must be kept. The government has zero flexibility to negotiate on rice."

Ahead of more talks in Kuala Lumpur next month, Malaysian officials cast doubt on whether a trade agreement, which could double the $44bn flow of two-way trade, could be reached in time.

"If they want to finish by July, I do not see it happening because there are so many issues to cover," said Rafidah Aziz, Malaysia's international trade and industry minister.

"I am not optimistic."

Access to Malaysia's restricted car and banking industries and a dispute over 35-year-old laws giving ethnic Malay firms preferential access to government contracts have clouded discussions.