Reuters
MANILA: A 10-nation Southeast Asian bloc agreed with Japan yesterday to reduce barriers to trade and said it would consider sanctions against any of its own members who do not comply with free trade agreements on time.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), which has adopted free-trade as the vehicle to faster economic growth, aims to form a European Union-style economic community by 2015 and is forging free-trade deals with regional giants.
Asean’s agreement with Japan is expected to significantly boost two-trade trade, currently worth more than $160bn per year, officials said. Japan is the region’s biggest trade partner after the US.
“All the parties were able to finalise their lists for regional exchange of concessions for trade in goods,” Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari said after a meeting with Asean trade ministers in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
“This will be one step toward furthering economic integration in the East Asian region,” he told reporters.
Asean already has free-trade agreements for goods in place with China and South Korea. It is negotiating similar deals with India, Australia and New Zealand. Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said in a report to the trade ministers that Asean needed to ensure that its own members adhered to free-trade agreements.
“The general perception is that Asean is prone to agree fast, act slow,” he said in the report, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
He said the group should set up a scorecard to track compliance by members and “institute compensatory measures or denial of benefits for delay in implementation”.
Japan’s Amari said the trade deal would particularly boost Japan’s investment in Southeast Asia’s electronics industries, which dominate the region’s exports.
“It will help the movement of these (electronics) parts in the region and will promote even further the electronics industry in the Asean region through its liberalisation measures.”
The agreement will be signed at a summit in Singapore in November after officials complete work on the details.
Asean — comprising the six richer members of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Brunei — and four poorer recent members — Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos — is one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions, with a regional gross domestic product of $1.1tn.
But the bloc of 570mn people has made only slow progress towards its own economic integration.
Although a free-trade area is in place, eliminating most tariffs on trade within the region, the members have much work to do in areas such as transport infrastructure, food, tourism and free movement of labour to reach their goal of an Asean Economic Community.
Japan is already the second biggest source of foreign direct investment in Asean members, after the European Union, with an 18% share of the $171bn that the region attracted between 2002 and 2006.
Under the deal, which applies to trade in goods, not services, Japan will eliminate tariffs on 93% of products imported from Southeast Asia over 10 years, and the six richer Asean countries will cut tariffs to zero on at least 90% of goods they import from Japan.
The four poorer Asean members are offering to cut tariffs on about 88-90% of Japanese imports, a Filipino official said.
The imports exempted from the deal are sensitive products, such as rice in the case of Japan, and automobile parts or textiles in the case of some of the Asean countries.
The Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean), which has adopted free-trade as the vehicle to faster economic growth, aims to form a European Union-style economic community by 2015 and is forging free-trade deals with regional giants.
Asean’s agreement with Japan is expected to significantly boost two-trade trade, currently worth more than $160bn per year, officials said. Japan is the region’s biggest trade partner after the US.
“All the parties were able to finalise their lists for regional exchange of concessions for trade in goods,” Japanese Trade Minister Akira Amari said after a meeting with Asean trade ministers in Manila, the capital of the Philippines.
“This will be one step toward furthering economic integration in the East Asian region,” he told reporters.
Asean already has free-trade agreements for goods in place with China and South Korea. It is negotiating similar deals with India, Australia and New Zealand. Asean Secretary-General Ong Keng Yong said in a report to the trade ministers that Asean needed to ensure that its own members adhered to free-trade agreements.
“The general perception is that Asean is prone to agree fast, act slow,” he said in the report, a copy of which was seen by Reuters.
He said the group should set up a scorecard to track compliance by members and “institute compensatory measures or denial of benefits for delay in implementation”.
Japan’s Amari said the trade deal would particularly boost Japan’s investment in Southeast Asia’s electronics industries, which dominate the region’s exports.
“It will help the movement of these (electronics) parts in the region and will promote even further the electronics industry in the Asean region through its liberalisation measures.”
The agreement will be signed at a summit in Singapore in November after officials complete work on the details.
Asean — comprising the six richer members of Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines and Brunei — and four poorer recent members — Vietnam, Myanmar, Cambodia and Laos — is one of the world’s most dynamic economic regions, with a regional gross domestic product of $1.1tn.
But the bloc of 570mn people has made only slow progress towards its own economic integration.
Although a free-trade area is in place, eliminating most tariffs on trade within the region, the members have much work to do in areas such as transport infrastructure, food, tourism and free movement of labour to reach their goal of an Asean Economic Community.
Japan is already the second biggest source of foreign direct investment in Asean members, after the European Union, with an 18% share of the $171bn that the region attracted between 2002 and 2006.
Under the deal, which applies to trade in goods, not services, Japan will eliminate tariffs on 93% of products imported from Southeast Asia over 10 years, and the six richer Asean countries will cut tariffs to zero on at least 90% of goods they import from Japan.
The four poorer Asean members are offering to cut tariffs on about 88-90% of Japanese imports, a Filipino official said.
The imports exempted from the deal are sensitive products, such as rice in the case of Japan, and automobile parts or textiles in the case of some of the Asean countries.
1 comment:
"Asean consider sanctions against any of its own members who do not comply with free trade agreements on time" ahahahhahahh!
Now that ain't fair! Consider Cambodia just emerge from the cold war, the genocide, and still have the same dictator for almost 30 years!
Asean can't go around force their stupid ideology down Cambodian people's throat! Thank to the Asean indecisiveness in 1980 that is why Cambodia went through of 10 years of Vietcong occupation!
The fucken Asean members still prey on its weak members such as Cambodia through economic exploitation and human trafficking and now the Asean want to talk about European Union-style economic community? It wills never going to happen because Asean is too diverse to talk about unity and beside there are too many deep seated animosity in history to forget about the past and the fucken rivalry still remain today! When the fucken Thai want to block Cambodian monument Preah Vihear from recognizing by UNESCO and I already knew why!
Asean ain't ready for the prime time yet until every Asean members have the capability to produce ATOMIC BOMB and only then Asean can talk about not going to war and start talking about unity!
Unity is a blessing in disguise! It is better for Asean members to deal with each other or the Great Powers individually because the weak Asean members can always depend on different members or the Great Powers for intervention from other bully Asean members!
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