The protracted and often turbulent negotiations between Malaysia and the United States on the future of their trade relations have reached a critical juncture.

Nearly three years after the original Trade and Investment Framework Agreement was signed - and after five rounds of talks - the two sides seem no closer to concluding the flagship Free Trade Agreement (FTA). In any event, there is now no likelihood of meeting the deadline that would enable President George W Bush to fast-track any deal through the US Congress.

While politicians talk of fine-tuning various contentious issues arising from negotiations and building consensus, and the cabinet promises not to be constrained by any fixed timescale, the conditions attached to the proposed FTA are coming under unprecedented critical scrutiny. Protests against the FTA have been held outside the US embassy and the office of Prime Minster's Department in Putrajaya. The editorial and letters to the editors pages of newspapers have been alive with hostile commentary.