NAFTA is not a trade bloc, Barry says
NAFTA is not a trade bloc, Barry says
JAKARTA (JP): The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA)
is not a trade bloc but rather a complement of the new General
Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT), American Ambassador to
Indonesia Robert L. Barry said yesterday.
Speaking at the 11th general meeting and seminar of the Asian
Bankers Association, Barry noted that the new GATT recognizes the
formation of trade regional grouping as long as it does not
create new barriers for the non-member countries.
"NAFTA is not a bloc, but the U.S. commitment for unilateral
trade principles," Barry addressed the two-day meeting, attended
by some 140 bankers from 14 Asian and 7 non-Asian countries.
Barry assured that the U.S. market will remain widely open for
any GATT member country and it will not create new restrictions
or trade barriers for non-NAFTA countries.
He also affirmed that his government's national treatment
policy guarantees equal competition opportunities for every
single company which enters the United States.
However, Governor of Bank Indonesia (the central bank) J.
Soedradjad Djiwandono argued that regional groupings like NAFTA,
the European Union (EA) and Asean Free Trade Area (AFTA) for
countries in South East Asia are nothing else than trade blocs.
"Although the formation of these arrangements is still
consistent with the GATT framework, it could cause some
disadvantages for non-member countries, especially in the form of
trade or investment diversion.
"As a consequence, this development could ignite protests from
non-member countries," Governor Soedradjad said in commentary on
the seminar's theme of Global Economic Transformation: Impact on
Asian Financial Markets.
Mari Elka Pangestu who also spoke at yesterday's meeting,
noted that AFTA differs with NAFTA and EU.
"AFTA is just a concrete acceleration of time frameworks for a
10-year transition period of GATT," Mari said, referring to the
10-year consideration given to all GATT's signatories to adjust
their import tariffs and trade regulations in line with GATT
principles. (rid)