ASEAN's progress on trade

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