ASEAN to boost dispute settlement body

ASEAN to boost dispute settlement body

Jason Gutierrez, Agence France-Presse, Phnom Penh

Southeast Asian economic ministers agreed on Tuesday to set up
a dispute settlement system and integrate 11 key sectors to
achieve an envisioned single market by the year 2020.

The agreement came after Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen
urged the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
ministers meeting here to speed up the creation of an ASEAN
economic community (AEC).

The notion of an AEC was first broached at a summit Phnom Penh
last year. It is expected to be completed within 17 years,
creating a common market of 530 million consumers.

On Tuesday the economic ministers endorsed two key
recommendations to ensure concrete progress towards the AEC, they
said in a joint statement.

One would be to "institute an effective dispute settlement
system by end-2004" and the other was to "accelerate the
integration of 11 priority sectors in which ASEAN as a whole
enjoy competitive advantages."

These sectors encompass wood-based products, automotive,
rubber, textiles and apparel, agro-based products, fisheries,
electronics, e-commerce, healthcare, air travel and tourism.

"Beginning next year, steps will be taken to grant special
incentives like zero tariffs, harmonization of product standards,
and faster customs clearance and simplified customs procedures,"
the ministers said.

Under the new dispute settlement system, "binding decisions
can be made expeditiously and based solely on legal
considerations," they said.

Earlier on Tuesday Hun Sen said trade ministers had been
studying proposals and initiatives that would eventually lead to
the realization of the AEC.

"I personally believe that these are very important and
promising initiatives and we should all look forward to the
presentation of the findings and recommendations at the ninth
ASEAN summit next month in Bali," the Cambodian leader told the
trade ministers in the capital Phnom Penh.

He noted that ASEAN countries possessed "immense potential"
and further integration of their economies could "maximize the
employment of resources and generate sustained benefits for our
people."

Hun Sen also assured the trade ministers from Brunei,
Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines,
Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam that his government was working
to restore political stability to his country after hotly
contested polls in July.

Cambodia's Minister of Commerce Cham Prasidh said it was hoped
that the meetings here would "produce some substantial
deliverables" that would in turn be presented to ASEAN leaders
next month.

"Also in the next few days, we will be meeting with our
counterparts from our major trading partners including Australia,
China, India, Japan, (South) Korea and New Zealand to explore
ways and means to further deepen and strengthen existing economic
cooperation," he said.

ASEAN is developing Free Trade Agreements (FTA) with India,
Japan, South Korea and the United States, and working with China
to create the world's largest free trade zone within 10 years
covering 1.7 billion consumers.

The ministers, in the joint statement, said they would endorse
a draft FTA agreement with Japan in October.

"The draft framework is comprehensive incorporating measures
for immediate implementation, facilitation and cooperation and
also the aspect of liberalization for trade in goods, services
and investment," it said.

ASEAN and Japan should implement the agreement by 2012.