ASEAN's progress on trade

The countries of Southeast Asia may differ on a host of political problems that seem intractable, but there is one area in which they have made some promising breakthroughs -- trade.

A proposal that the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) complete the implementation of an Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) by 2000 evoked favorable comments from delegates attending the 27th Asean Economic Ministers meeting, which ended at the weekend in Brunei. The current deadline for setting up AFTA is 2003.

It has long been clear that the AFTA schedule must be reviewed and shortened in the interests of free trade in this region.

There is a realization that now, nowhere are the aspirations to join the middle class greater, nowhere is the climb up the economic ladder faster, than in Asia. The incredible economic growth of the Asia-Pacific region, particularly East Asian nations, is catapulting huge numbers of people to a better life.

A modern, prosperous Asia-Pacific will eventually be a more open place. The region offers a huge market for American goods -- if Washington's policy-makers can forge a coherent, well- integrated approach to Asia.

ASEAN countries also agreed at the ministerial meeting to give each other concessions in the services sector that are better than those provided under the World Trade Organization's (WTO) General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS).

Hong Kong has always felt that the services sector agreement of the WTO was flawed because it was not necessarily being done on a most-favored-nation basis. Individual WTO members can put their own offers on the table and open them to whoever they like, depending on what reciprocal offers they get. This was clearly a backward step; the idea should be to offer complete openness to everyone.

-- Hongkong Standard