ASEAN and Japan hold meeting on free trade area
ASEAN and Japan hold meeting on free trade area
Agence France-Presse, Kuala Lumpur
Senior officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Japan held their first meeting Monday to map out a framework to create a regional free trade agreement (FTA) within a decade.
Philippines' trade official Ramon Kabigting, who is co- chairing the talks, described it as a "very good step forward" but said another four meetings would be held before October to thrash out details.
The committee hoped to complete a framework on the "rules of the game" for negotiations on the FTA to present to ASEAN leaders at their summit in Bali, Indonesia, in October, he said.
"We agreed (today) on the terms of reference for our committee, elements that we wanted to put in framework that we have this year to complete and a workplan for attacking the assignment," he told reporters.
Kabigting said an ASEAN-Japan FTA would be a "strong building block" for an expanded East Asia free trade zone encompassing rising giant China and South Korea.
The next meeting would likely take place in Tokyo late April, he added.
The meeting in Kuala Lumpur was the first since Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sealed a pact with ASEAN leaders at their summit in November to work on a framework to set up a free trade deal.
Japan, one of the biggest investors in the region, is striving to ensure it is not left behind after ASEAN leaders in November signed a pact with China to create the world's biggest FTA between 2010 and 2015, embracing 1.7 billion people and trade worth US$1.2 trillion.
China accounts for only five percent of ASEAN exports, less than Japan's 10 to 15 percent share but Japan is losing ground due to its economic slump.
From 1993 to 2000, Japan's trade with ASEAN increased at an annual rate of 15 percent.
With an FTA, ASEAN exports to Japan would likely rise 20.6 billion dollars or 44.2 percent from 1997 levels by 2020, while Japanese exports to the region are seen rising 27.5 percent or 20 billion dollars, officials said.
It could also boost ASEAN's gross domestic product (GDP) by two percent and Japan's GDP by 0.07 percent.
But officials said Japan's reluctance to open up its sensitive agriculture sector was a key obstacle, with Tokyo refusing to offer immediate tariff reductions for agricultural products from Southeast Asia.
On the other hand, analysts said ASEAN might use its newly established political, economic and security links with China to seek trade concessions from Japan.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.