ASEAN Summit to amend CEPT, forge new ties
ASEAN Summit to amend CEPT, forge new ties
JAKARTA (JP): The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is poised to amend its preferential trade agreement and take fresh initiatives in several sectors to further expand trade liberalization.
ASEAN Secretary-General Ajit Singh said yesterday that the association's ministerial meeting and summit, which begin in Bangkok next week, are likely to see amendments to the preferential trade agreement -- the Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) -- as well as new framework agreements and action plans regarding a number of key sectors.
He said that some of the amendments and new agreements were necessary to accommodate the entry of ASEAN's newest member, Vietnam, while others flowed the new target of 2003 for the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA). The original timetable provided for the advent of AFTA in 2008.
"The amendment of the CEPT agreement is necessitated by the acceleration of AFTA and the inclusion of unprocessed agricultural products (in the agreement)," Singh said.
ASEAN is a socioeconomic grouping, founded in 1967, which now consists of Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The latter became a member in July.
The CEPT agreement provides that ASEAN members will reduce intra-regional tariffs and remove non-tariff barriers with the ultimate aim of establishing AFTA.
ASEAN's leaders will meet in Bangkok for their fifth summit from Dec. 14 to Dec. 15. The summit will be preceded by two ministerial meetings, which will focus on political and economic issues, and meetings between senior officials.
To better coordinate customs controls among ASEAN members, the leaders will also endorse harmonization initiatives, including the creation of a "Green Lane" to facilitate and step up clearance of CEPT products.
Services
New areas of economic cooperation to be studied by the ASEAN leaders include services, intellectual property rights, investment and the development of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Going further than mere cooperation, the planned agreement on services will include the possibility of preferential liberalization to help increase the competitiveness of service suppliers.
"The liberalization of the service sector is to be made through a process of negotiation which is scheduled to begin on Jan. 1, 1996," Singh said.
He added that the key service sectors which have been proposed are finance, telecommunications, tourism, construction, air and maritime transport and business services.
On the issue of intellectual property rights, the association is debating the possibility of having an ASEAN patent and trademark system.
Apart from stimulating domestic research and innovation, greater cooperation would encourage investment, Singh said.
Action plans have also drawn up for the promotion of foreign direct investment as well as intra-ASEAN investment.
According to Singh, an action plan has been approved. It takes into account each member's industrial policies and possible areas for liberalization.
Reviewing the planned initiatives of the summit, Singh expressed confidence about the meeting.
"We think the summit is going to take another step forward in strengthening intra-ASEAN cooperation," he said.
He noted that within a year of agreement on the AFTA plan in 1993, intra-ASEAN trade had risen by 41 percent, while trade in goods covered by the CEPT had increased from US$63.4 billion to $92.6 billion.
With stability, peace and continued economic growth averaging more than 7 percent each year, ASEAN is one of the fastest- growing trade regions in the world.
"At the current rate of expansion, ASEAN may overtake Japan as the world's third-largest trading entity by the year 2000," Singh said. (mds)