Minister promotes AICO plan

Minister promotes AICO plan

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Industry and Trade Tunky Ariwibowo
said yesterday that the ASEAN Industrial Cooperation Plan (AICO)
would facilitate joint ventures and other business alliances in
the region.

"The diversity of economies in the region offers tremendous
opportunities for cross-border 'complementation' of business
activities. This is your opportunity," he said at a seminar on
the economic outlook of Southeast Asia and China, which was
organized by The Jakarta Post in cooperation with the Asia
Pacific Economics Group and Qantas of Australia.

According to the plan, import tariffs on certain industrial
products for member countries would immediately fall to between
zero and 5 percent and non-tariff incentives would be granted.

The agreement, which was signed at the end of the three-day
informal meeting of ASEAN economic ministers in Singapore last
April, replaces the previous regional industrial cooperation
arrangements, including the 1988 brand-to-brand complementary
scheme for the automotive industry.

In addition to AICO, he said, preparations were underway for an
ASEAN Investment Area agreement, which is expected to stimulate
direct intra-ASEAN investment and other foreign investment.
"Southeast Asia is changing and advancing individually and
collectively," he said.

He said the mutually beneficial scheme should become the basis
of alliances between countries, including the ASEAN member
countries.

He said the yndustrialized countries should help the
developing countries to promote their economies . "They should
also open their markets widely for products from developing
countries and should not impose any kind protection," he said.

He said the deteriorating condition of developing countries'
economies would also harm industrial countries. "The developed
countries need the developing ones to market their products,
particularly capital goods," he said.

"The current process of trade liberalization, therefore,
should not be pursued at the expense of developing countries," he
said.

He said the industrialized countries should allow the
developing countries more time to liberalize their service
sectors so they can compete.

When asked about the controversial Indonesian car policy, he
said it was a part of the government's program to become a leader
in technology. "We must be able to develop our technology so that
we become a leader instead of a follower, as we are now. We were
late to develop automotive technology, but we have to start now,"
he said.

Technological development, he said, was also needed to sharpen
the competitive edge of Indonesian exports against other
countries' products.

"What we have to do is promote our exports. We should not
pursue a policy of controlling imports," he said.

But he added that the government would impose technical
standards for imported goods entering the Indonesian market.

He told reporters that the government was working on the
standards and would hopefully issue them this year.

"Other countries impose their standards on our export goods. I
think we should also do the same with a view to protecting our
consumers," he said.

He would not elaborate on the kinds of standards to be issued
by the government. (13)