ASEAN to open up 11 'priority sectors'
ASEAN to open up 11 'priority sectors'
Zakki P. Hakim, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
Economics ministers of the 10 member nations of ASEAN are
expected to strengthen their commitment to push for the
liberalization of trade and investment activities in 11 key
economic sectors by 2007 when they gather here for a three-day
meeting.
Director of regional cooperation at the Ministry of Industry
and Trade Eliver Radjagoekgoek, however, said on Tuesday that the
ministers gathering for the 36th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM)
conference would also agree to temporarily exclude certain
products of the above "priority sectors" from the liberalization
drive.
The temporary exclusion would expire by 2010, he said.
"The (ASEAN) secretariat will examine whether each country's
(negative) list has met the agreed requirement," Eliver said on
the sidelines of the first day of the ASEAN Senior Economic
Officials Meeting (SEOM), which precedes the AEM meet.
During the leaders' summit of the Association of South East
Asian in Bali last year, a regional grouping agreed to create the
ASEAN Economic Community in 2020, where there would be a free
flow of investment, trade and labor within a region of some 500
million people. It was also agreed to accelerate liberalization
in the 11 priority sectors, ranging from the automotive to the
agriculture sector.
Opening up of the 11 sectors is expected to boost trade within
the region. Despite the start of a gradual implementation of the
ASEAN Free Trade Area in 1992, intraregional trade so far
accounts for only about 23 percent of the region's total foreign
trade. In comparison, intraregional trade within the European
Union was around 75 percent, while the figure for the "Mercosur"
region was 35 percent last year. Mercosur is a regional trade
grouping of South American countries including Brazil, Argentina,
Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile and Bolivia.
The planned liberalization measures will include cutting
import tariffs under the Common Effective Preferential Tariff
(CEPT) facility, streamlining customs procedures and adopting
shared product standards by 2007 for the six original ASEAN
members and by 2012 for the four newer members.
ASEAN original member were Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the
Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei, while Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam
and Myanmar joined later.
Despite the seemingly upbeat sentiment of trade officials,
some experts said that implementing the liberalization goals
would not be easy, particularly in the agriculture sector.
One of the problems with the sector is the long list of more
than 1,200 products, compared with about 80 products in the
electronics sector. This would make things more complicated.
During the AEM meeting, ministers will also discuss the trade
disputes settlement mechanism, rules of origin and hold a dialog
with ministers from the region's key trading partners, including
China, Japan, India, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and the
European Union.
ASEAN is also aiming to create free trade deals with these
regions.
After the SEOM, ASEAN officials will gather for the AFTA
council meeting on Thursday, which will include discussion of
measures to push for the implementation of a fully fledged, free
trade area in the region.
The officials will also hold the ASEAN Investment Area meeting
on the same day.
ASEAN 11 priority sectors
Priority Sectors Coordinator
1. Agriculture Myanmar
2. Fisheries Myanmar
3. Automotive Indonesia
4. Wood-based products Indonesia
5. Rubber-based products Malaysia
6. Textile and apparel Malaysia
7. Electronics Philippines
8. Air transport Thailand
9. Tourism Thailand
10. E-commerce Singapore
11. Healthcare Singapore
Source: Ministry of Industry and Trade