ASEAN agrees to speed up trade liberalization<\/p>\n
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, Brunei (Reuter): ASEAN trade and economic
\nministers agreed yesterday to expand a preferential trade scheme
\nand speed up the start of a regional free-trade zone.<\/p>\n
The ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
\n(ASEAN) also endorsed an agreement to begin negotiations to
\nliberalize their services sectors.<\/p>\n
\"Member countries have been asked to expand the number of
\nitems with tariff rates reduced to zero percent to five percent
\nby the year 2000,\" a joint statement said at the end of the two-
\nday meeting.<\/p>\n
\"This would then pave the way for a more liberal ASEAN Free
\nTrade Area (AFTA) even before the target date of January 1,
\n2003,\" the statement said.<\/p>\n
ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Malaysia,
\nSingapore, Thailand and Vietnam.<\/p>\n
The economic ministers were responding to a call by Brunei
\nSultan Hassanal Bolkiah in his opening address to speed up the
\nAFTA timeframe to the year 2000.<\/p>\n
\"AFTA must move faster than other free-trade areas,\" the
\nSultan said. \"I have therefore proposed at the ASEAN ministerial
\nmeeting last month that we advance the timeframe for the
\nrealization of AFTA to the year 2000,\" the Sultan said in his
\nopening address.<\/p>\n
With a combined population of 420 million people in the
\nworld's fastest developing region, AFTA would become the most
\npopulous free-trade zone in the world, surpassing the European
\nUnion and the North American Free Trade Area.<\/p>\n
Intra-regional trade in ASEAN grew by nearly 41 percent
\nbetween 1993 and 1994 to $44.44 billion in 1994.<\/p>\n
Service<\/p>\n
Malaysian International Trade and Industry Minister Rafidah
\nAziz told reporters the services agreement would include the
\nfinancial services, maritime and air travel, tourism,
\nconstruction and business.<\/p>\n
\"We have identified the areas of least resistance for each
\nASEAN country and will begin negotiations here,\" she said.<\/p>\n
Indonesian Coordinating Minister for Industry and Trade
\nHartarto said the idea of a framework agreement was for ASEAN
\nmember countries to \"be more open among ourselves\" in sectors
\nthat each ASEAN country had already freed under the General
\nAgreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT).<\/p>\n
In the two days of deliberations, the ASEAN members also
\nagreed to support new member Vietnam's application to join APEC
\nand the WTO, the joint press statement said.<\/p>\n
An AFTA council meeting earlier this week endorsed a slower
\npace for Vietnam to move into the AFTA scheme. Vietnam will
\nsubmit an initial package of tariff reduction starting in January
\n1996 through until 2006.<\/p>\n
The ASEAN ministers also agreed on a mechanism to settle AFTA
\ndisputes and another umbrella system to cover disputes arising
\nfrom all ASEAN agreements on cooperation. No further details were
\ngiven.<\/p>\n
The ministers said they also agreed that economic issues would
\nbe placed on the agenda of an ASEAN meeting with the European
\nUnion and said that ASEAN would coordinate closely with China,
\nJapan and South Korea on the Asian position on various economic
\nissues.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asean-agrees-to-speed-up-trade-liberalization-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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