Keating proposes free trade links with ASEAN countries
Keating proposes free trade links with ASEAN countries
BANGKOK (AFP): Australia and Thailand will create a bilateral
trade commission and explore ways to link ASEAN and the
Australia-New Zealand free trade zones, Prime Minister Paul
Keating said here yesterday.
Keating said he and Thai counterpart Chuan Leekpai had agreed
immediately during their meeting to establish a ministerial
commission to "discuss ways to expand trade" and other links
between their two countries.
The commission, he said, could open the door for a body
handling "multilateral resolutions of trade problems and ...
trade opportunities on a multilateral basis."
Keating arrived Wednesday in Thailand for a four-day official
visit, the highlight of which will be the opening Friday of the
Australian-funded Friendship Bridge across the Mekong River to
Laos.
Thailand and Australia have discussed informally for six
months the prospect of combining the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Australia-New Zealand free trade
zones into one large marketplace.
Thai officials suggested yesterday the time was ripe for
formal discussions with other ASEAN members, Keating said.
He said Chuan had mentioned the prospect to other ASEAN
leaders and had met with no objections.
The gross domestic product (GDP) of the two zones was nearly
equal, Keating said, "so it would be a doubling of that market."
But Keating qualified his remarks by saying there was no time
frame for any possible linkage.
ASEAN comprises Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Singapore and Thailand.
Keating said the Thai-Australian ministerial commission, once
active, would tackle disputes such as lowering import tariffs, in
order to help Thailand and Australia "do justice" to their trade
potential.
Two-way trade between Thailand and Australia was worth A$2
billion (US$1.42 billion) in 1993, growing an average of 25
percent annually.
The Australian leader met again with premier Chuan last night
and with the Thai monarch, King Bhumibol Adulyadej, before flying
Sunday to Hanoi.