ASEAN FMs to discuss economic issues

JAKARTA (JP): Foreign ministers from the seven ASEAN member countries will address wide-ranging economic issues from the Mekong basin project to free trade in a joint communique they will issue at the end of their annual meeting today.

Conference sources said ASEAN foreign ministers will call for continued efforts to reduce impediments to trade and investment in ASEAN to facilitate the accelerated implementation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) agreement by 2000.

The ministers are expected to announce that customs surcharges affecting identified Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) products will be removed by 1996 and to call on member countries to intensify their efforts to eliminate nontariff barriers.

As for Indonesia, it has removed or transferred all surcharges to its tariff structure making the country free of surcharges.

To support AFTA, ASEAN countries have agreed to establish a green-line system for CEPT products. The system will expedite customs clearance since the onset of the AFTA, which covers mainly trade in goods.

ASEAN leaders agreed at their summit in Bangkok last December to accelerate the CEPT-AFTA whereby tariffs of items on the CEPT list will be reduced to the zero to 5 percent range by the year 2000, enabling the association to achieve the AFTA even before the target date of 2003.

In addition to AFTA, the ministers will also encourage an acceleration in negotiations among member countries for the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS).

It is expected that each member country will come up with initial comments by September this year, when ASEAN economic ministers will meet here. Negotiations on the AFAS have to be completed by June 30, 1997.

Toward the upcoming inaugural World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Singapore later this year, the foreign ministers will oppose any attempt to include non-trade issues, including corruption and social clause.

The ministers express serious concerns on attempts to link international labor standards and international trade, as underlined by the ASEAN labor ministers, sources said.

They have always contended that such a linkage would undermine the economic growth of developing countries which in turn would affect the economy of developed nations.

They will also endorse the position of the ASEAN economic ministers to oppose the inclusion of the multilateral investment codes and competition policy into the agenda of the Singapore meeting.

On the East Asia Economic Caucus (EAEC), which is spearheaded by Malaysia, the foreign ministers will also renew their commitments toward its realization. The caucus, which aims to group only fast-growing East and Southeast Asian countries, has been slow in progress due to vehement objection from the United States.

Malaysian Foreign Minister Datuk Abdullah Badawi said before the ministerial meeting that he would like to stress the importance of ASEAN in the establishment of EAEC.

"EAEC has already become an ASEAN matter. And I will see how far the acceptance level is," Badawi announced upon his arrival here on Friday evening.

ASEAN foreign ministers will also adopt a framework to boost the importance of "functional cooperation" between member countries.

Such a functional cooperation covers the areas of science and technology, environment, culture and information, social development as well as drugs and narcotics control.

On the Mekong basin project, the ministers will continue its initiative on the development of the basin. They noted the positive response of China, Japan and South Korea to ASEAN's initiative on the project.

"It's fortunate that ASEAN came at the right time when all the projects have been identified," Thai Foreign Minister Amnuay Viravan said on Friday, suggesting that ASEAN take more real actions to help finance the projects.

"We cannot just give lip service; we have to take action; we have to put some of our resources for the development of Mekong basin because they are the least developed countries in the region and they need our help," Viravan said.

The ASEAN-supported Mekong basin project aims to help develop least developed countries around the Mekong basin, including Cambodia, Laos, China (the southern part of China) and Vietnam. (rid)