U.s. trade and commercial policy toward southeast asia
james a. kelly, assistant secretary of state for east asian and pacific affairstestimony before the house international relations committeewashington, dcjune 25, 2003
mr. chairman, i would like to take this opportunity to thank you and the members of the subcommittee on east asia and the pacific, for inviting me to discuss trade and commercial policy priorities in southeast asia and oceania.
looking back, this region has seen a remarkable transformation. just a few decades ago, it suffered from cross-border conflicts and struggled with domestic instability and poverty. today, the region has virtually no cross-border conflicts, has more open societies and democratic institutions, and boasts some of the most dynamic economies in the world. thirty years ago, malaysias per capita gdp exceeded koreas, and today koreas per capita gdp is more than double malaysias. hong kong and singapore, which earned a little more t...