Manila to cut tariffs

Manila to cut tariffs

MANILA (AFP): Philippine President Fidel Ramos yesterday ordered tariff reductions in 1996 in accordance with an accelerated program to create an ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), a presidential palace statement said.

Ramos issued the order before flying to Bangkok for the fifth leaders' summit of the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN), due to start today.

The 1996 Philippine schedule of tariff reduction "gives meaning" to the Philippines' commitment to bringing forward AFTA's implementation from 2008 to 2003, the statement said.

It did not provide details of the scale of tariff reduction or which products would be covered.

ASEAN groups Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.