ASEAN, major partners to hold trade talks
ASEAN, major partners to hold trade talks
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Trade ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN) plan to hold a four-day meet in the capital starting
Sept. 2 to discuss ways to boost regional trade.
The officials are also slated to meet with their counterparts
from the grouping's major trading partners -- Japan, China, South
Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, the European Union and the
United States -- to seek ways to boost trade and accelerate
economic integration.
The Ministry of Industry and Trade's director general of
international cooperation, Pos M. Hutabarat, said on Wednesday
that the 36th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting would be
crucial, as intra-ASEAN trade had progressed very slowly.
He pointed out that intra-ASEAN trade accounted for only 23
percent, or about US$84 billion, of the regional grouping's 2003
exports. When the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) concept was first
introduced in 1993, regional trade accounted for 18 percent of
exports.
In comparison, regional trade in the European Union accounted
for 75 percent of total trade, while regional trade reached 35
percent in Mercosur, a South American economic group comprising
Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia.
Pos said the main reason for the low trade in ASEAN was that
many member countries had similar resources and products.
Another problem was that ASEAN countries applied different
product standards, such as clothing sizes and voltage for
electronics.
ASEAN leaders have warned that the potential for an integrated
market of the region's 500 million people would be lost without
urgent action.
At a summit last year in Bali, the leaders pledged to
streamline customs procedures and to adopt shared product
standards in an effort to boost regional trade.
To make the task more manageable, they decided to press ahead
in 11 priority sectors, ranging from fisheries to aviation.
They also agreed to set up a monitoring group to check whether
members were living up to their commitments, and establish a
dispute-settlement procedure.
According to Pos, member countries would decide at next week's
meeting to focus first on several priority sectors and leave the
remainder for a later date.
Pos predicted that the meeting would likely focus on the
automotive, textile, electronics, information technology, medical
equipment, rubber and tourism sectors, and set aside agriculture,
fisheries, logging and aviation for future talks.
According to ASEAN Secretariat data, regional exports to the
world increased to US$363 billion in 2003 from $321 billion in
2002, but still lower than the $387 billion reached in 2001.