ASEAN, major trade partners to hold trade talks
ASEAN, major trade partners to hold trade talks
Zakki P. Hakim
The Jakarta Post
Jakarta
Trade and economic ministers of the Association of South East
Asian Nations (ASEAN) member countries plan to hold a four-day
meet on Sept. 2 here to discuss ways to boost trade within the
region.
The officials would also meet with their counterparts from the
grouping major trading partners which include Japan, China, South
Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, European Union and the U.S.
to seek ways to boost trade and accelerate economic integration.
Director General of International Cooperation at the Ministry
of Industry and Trade 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 only accounted for 23
percent (worth about US$84 billion) of the regional grouping's
total export in 2003. In 1993, when the ASEAN Free Trade Area
(AFTA) concept was first introduced, the intra-regional trade
accounted for 18 percent.
In comparison, intra-regional trade in the European Union
accounted for 75 percent of the region's total trade, while
intra-regional trade of the Mercosur reached 35 percent.
Mercosur, a South American economic group, consists of Brazil,
Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia.
Pos said the main reason behind the low trade among ASEAN
members is the fact that many of them have similar resources and
manufacture similar products.
Another problem is that ASEAN countries apply different
standards on products, such as the size of clothes and voltage
requirements for electronic products.
ASEAN leaders have warned that the potential for an integrated
market of the region's 500 million people would be lost without
urgent action.
The leaders, at a summit last year in Bali, pledged to
streamline customs procedures and to adopt shared product
standards as part of efforts to further boost trade within the
region.
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 are living up to their commitments, and a
dispute-settlement procedure.
According to Pos, in next week's meeting, country members
would decide to focus first on several priority sectors and left
the remaining for a later schedule.
Pos predicted that the meeting would likely to focus on
automotive, textile, electronics, information technology, health
care equipment, rubber and tourism sectors, while setting aside
agriculture, fisheries, wood and air transport for future talks.
According to ASEAN secretariat data, ASEAN's export to the
world increased to US$363 billion last year from $321 billion in
the previous year but still lower than $387 billion in 2001.