Vietnam to compensate Thailand

Vietnam to compensate Thailand

HANOI: Vietnam will compensate Thailand for delaying import
tariff cuts on auto parts agreed under a Southeast Asian plan,
state press reported on Saturday.

Vietnam's finance ministry has sought Thai consent to delay
tariff cuts on motorbike parts and completely built cars, the
English language Vietnam News daily said.

The Common Effective Preferential Tariff (CEPT) road map of
the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations calls for 5
percent import tariffs on auto parts by 2006, but Vietnam wants
to wait until 2008 to do that.

Thailand is the largest exporter of motorbikes and parts to
Vietnam, the newspaper said. -- AFP