ASEAN FMs to discuss economic issues

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)