ASEAN to hold tariff talks

ASEAN to hold tariff talks

BANGKOK (Reuters): Trade ministers from the Association of
South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) will meet in Thailand in October
to tighten procedures for granting concessions from free trade
rules, officials said on Wednesday.

Thai commerce ministry officials said ASEAN ministers would
meet in the northern city of Chiang Mai on Oct. 5-7 to adopt
rules governing delays in tariff cuts by its members.

ASEAN agreed in May to consider a Malaysian request to
maintain protective tariffs for its auto industry until January
1, 2005.

Under its ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) scheme, ASEAN members
have agreed to cut tariffs, including those on cars, to between
zero and five percent by 2003.

Thai officials said the rules on granting concessions would be
based on article 28 of the General Agreements on Tariffs and
Trade (GATT), due to an absence of a regulatory framework under
AFTA.

The officials said the Chiang Mai meeting would also explore
the e-ASEAN initiative and increased liberalization of the 10-
member group's existing information technology agreement.

They said ASEAN ministers would hold separate trade talks in
Chiang Mai with counterparts from Japan, China, South Korea,
Australia and New Zealand.

"These trade linkage talks will mostly touch on cooperation
and assistance between ASEAN and these other countries," a Thai
official preparing for the meeting said.

She said ASEAN ministers would also seek to push for progress
in setting up an AFTA-CER (AFTA-Australia-New Zealand Closer
Economic Relations) free trade area.

The official said some ASEAN members, including Malaysia, held
the view that the AFTA-CER concept required more viability
studies and its implementation could probably wait until AFTA
itself strengthens its cooperation.

"Some members have reservations about the concept due to the
current relatively low volume of trade between ASEAN and
Australia and New Zealand," she said.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia , Laos, Malaysia,
Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.