ASEM to deal with economic matters<\/p>\n
By Riyadi<\/p>\n
BANGKOK (JP): The two-day Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM), which
\nwill start here tomorrow, is likely to touch on economic issues
\nrelated to trade, investment and deal with unfinished business
\nfrom the Uruguay Round of multilateral trade negotiations.<\/p>\n
In the trade sector, analysts here predicted that leaders of
\n25 Asian and European countries would emphasize opening each
\nother's markets by further bringing down trade barriers, either
\ntariff or non tariff, within the framework of the World Trade
\nOrganization (WTO).<\/p>\n
Europe and Asia are will be working together to prepare for
\nthe first ministerial meeting of the WTO, to be held in Singapore
\nin December.<\/p>\n
\"The Bangkok meeting should make this a priority objective for
\nparticipating countries. Our senior officials will have to work
\ntogether informally this summer, so that together we can make
\npreparations for Singapore,\" the European Commission said in a
\nstatement recently.<\/p>\n
According to the Japan External Trade Organization, the Asian
\nside's biggest hope for the ASEM is that it will help pave the
\nway for a boost in exports to the European Union (EU).<\/p>\n
The Asian participants at the ASEM are the seven members of
\nthe Association of Southeast Asian Nations -- Brunei, Indonesia,
\nMalaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam -- as
\nwell as China, Japan and South Korea.<\/p>\n
They particularly want to encourage their EU counterparts to
\nlaunch market-opening measures similar to those being pursued by
\nmembers of the Asia-pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.<\/p>\n
The 10 Asian countries which form an integral part of the APEC
\nforum and pursues a non-discriminatory principles and would like
\nto see Europe promote economic regionalism in the same manner.<\/p>\n
The European side, on the other hand, is seeking to boost
\ninvestment in Asia as the EU's investment in the region is
\nlagging behind.<\/p>\n
Foreign direct investment from the EU represented 10 percent
\nof East Asia's total foreign investment between 1986 and 1992.<\/p>\n
The European participants are the 15 members of the EU --
\nAustria, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, Finland, France, France,
\nGermany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands,
\nPortugal, Spain and Sweden.<\/p>\n
Investment is likely to be high up on the agenda. The European
\nside has indicated that it is anxious to establish international
\nrules to reduce barriers to investment worldwide and it is
\nseeking Asian support for the creation of such rules.<\/p>\n
In addition to trade and investment, there is also room for
\nEurope and Asia to coordinate views on liberalizing
\ntelecommunications networks and maritime transports -- two items
\nleft over from the Uruguay Round of talks under the General
\nAgreement on Tariffs and Trade.<\/p>\n
ASEM also offers a forum to explore future trade talks
\nregarding industrial standards, intellectual property rights,
\ntrade-related taxes, rules of origin, customs procedures and
\ncompetition policies -- both within the framework of the WTO and
\non a bilateral basis between Europe and Asia.<\/p>\n
As well as these issues, many analysts have predicted that a
\nnumber of Asian countries will raise the question of dumping,
\nclaiming as they do that EU anti-dumping duties were impeding
\ntheir exports.<\/p>\n
The EU, however, rejected the claim that the EU's anti-dumping
\npolicy is protectionist, saying that anti-dumping is a legitimate
\ntrade policy measure, and indeed has been used by all major
\ntrading countries. It also pointed out that Europe's anti-dumping
\nrules follow those of the WTO very closely.<\/p>\n
A Thai official has said that contentious issues such as anti-
\ndumping measures and copyright violations are likely to take a
\nbackseat.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/asem-to-deal-with-economic-matters-1447893297",
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"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
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