JP/6/INTRO

Both support and opposition have highlighted the journey of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), since its inception back in 1993.

Certain sectors of the public support AFTA due to the fact that AFTA, which aims at stamping out trade barriers within the region, would expedite the flow of goods and services in the region, boosting trade growth.

Traders and producers would benefit from AFTA, since it would expand markets of goods and services. While, consumers would also benefit from lower prices of goods and services.

However, other parties have demanded that AFTA's implementation be delayed, because of the perceived harmful effect it would have on the nation's domestic industries. AFTA promotes free and open competition, so that the industries which are not yet ready would fall by the wayside.

As the year 2002 draws to a close, some 90 percent of products included in AFTA have been put into inclusion lists this year, but public discourse on its benefits and dangers hasn't waned yet.

The Jakarta Posts' Fitri Wulandari, Rendi A. Witular, Adianto Simamora, Dadan Wijaksana and A'an Suryana interviewed people from all walks of life, to get a comprehensive view on AFTA.