ASEAN at odds on RI tariff reduction plan<\/p>\n
By Meidyatama Suryodiningrat<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (JP): Senior officials of the Association of Southeast
\nAsian Nations (ASEAN) yesterday failed to reach a consensus
\nallowing Indonesia to withdraw 15 products from the list of its
\nhasty tariff reductions, thus forcing the issue to be resolved at
\na higher level.<\/p>\n
The head of the ASEAN Senior Economic Officials Meeting
\n(SEOM), Krirk-Krai Jirapaet, said here yesterday that delegates
\nwere still at odds on the issue with a majority of members
\nrejecting Indonesia's proposal.<\/p>\n
"It is unfortunate that we cannot resolve it at our level but
\nthis is a matter of policy," said Jirapaet, who is director
\ngeneral of economic affairs at Thailand's Ministry of Economy.<\/p>\n
Formed in 1967 as a socio-economic organization, ASEAN
\noriginally comprised Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
\nSingapore and Thailand. Brunei joined it in 1984 and Vietnam
\nbecame the seventh and only communist member in July.<\/p>\n
With the aim of creating an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by
\nthe year 2003, the association has drawn up a list of products in
\nthe Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) scheme, whose
\ntariffs will be reduced.<\/p>\n
The CEPT is made up of several lists, the "Inclusion" products
\nwhose tariffs will be reduced immediately, the "Temporary
\nExclusion List" (TEL) which has a five-year grace period, and the
\n"Sensitive" list with an undetermined time for tariff reductions.<\/p>\n
Indonesia wants to move 15 products in the TEL to the
\nsensitive list, thus changing the time frame of their tariff
\nreduction.<\/p>\n
The reasons cited for this initiative are internal social
\npeace and order. These products include rice, milk, beat sugar,
\nsugar from cane and clove.<\/p>\n
Opposition<\/p>\n
Thailand is noted as one of the staunchest critics of
\nIndonesia's proposal and, according to Jirapaet, most of the
\nASEAN members hold the same objection.<\/p>\n
"More than half would not feel comfortable with the withdrawal
\n(of the products) from the TEL and their inclusion on the
\nsensitive list," he said adding that such a proposal "would not
\nmove the AFTA process further."<\/p>\n
"You can imagine, if rice and sugar are removed from the list;
\nhow many countries will be affected..," he remarked.<\/p>\n
Jirapaet and other senior ASEAN officials yesterday began two
\nconcurrent meetings, one focussing on political and security
\nissues and the other on economic matters, as a prelude to the
\nASEAN ministerial meeting which is due to begin on Monday, prior
\nto next week's fifth ASEAN Summit.<\/p>\n
Jirapaet argued that after submitting their lists voluntarily
\nin 1993, ASEAN member countries should not then withdraw them,
\nsaying that this would have "very strong implications."<\/p>\n
Earlier after the start of the senor official meeting,
\nIndonesia's director general for ASEAN, Rahardjo Jamtomo,
\nremained confident a solution could be worked out to allow the
\ncommodities to be retracted from the TEL.<\/p>\n
"We consider them to be sensitive products...So it is best to
\nwait a while because it concerns the interest of our farmers,"
\nRahardjo explained.<\/p>\n
The issue has a chance of being resolved at the AFTA Council
\nmeeting on Sunday. However Jirapaet said: "We will depend on the
\nwisdom of the ministers to solve this."<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, during the senior official meeting on political and
\nsecurity issues, delegates yesterday continued fine-tuning the
\nfinal elements of the various agreements to be adopted by
\nministers and heads of state.<\/p>\n
The elements include the draft of the Nuclear Weapons Free
\nZone Treaty, which will be signed by all the heads of state in
\nSoutheast Asia.<\/p>\n
Indonesia's Director General of Political Affairs, Izhar
\nIbrahim, said yesterday that Myanmar, the last country to confirm
\nit's commitment to signing the treaty, has verified its
\nwillingness to do so.<\/p>",
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