ADB set to promote trade liberalization
Daily Yomiuri, Japan
ADB set to promote trade liberalization
Takashi Kikuchi, Yomiuri Shimbun Correspondent
27 April 2006
Asian Development Bank President Haruhiko Kuroda said the bank would help promote regional trade liberalization as part of the institution’s mid- and long-term strategies.
"Income disparities may narrow if countries with high growth rates and those with slow rates are connected [under a free trade agreement framework]," Kuroda said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. "We’ve helped promote infrastructure construction along the Mekong River, financial cooperation among the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Japan, China and South Korea [ASEAN plus Three] and measures against infectious diseases."
Kuroda, who took office in February 2005, has promoted the ADB’s support for regional cooperation and economic integration.
"FTAs made by Asian countries should be consistent with one another, as an increasing number of such agreements are expected," he said. "If we leave the rules of origin and other rules inconsistent among these FTAs, trade procedures will get tangled and complicated, which may harm small- and mid-size businesses."
Kuroda pointed out that the bank had not made as many suggestions on trade issues as had the World Bank, which also helps countries develop and seeks to overcome poverty in developing countries.
"We’ll promote research in this field to verify the effectiveness of FTAs in creating trade opportunities and make proposals whenever necessary," he said.
Kuroda said Asian nations should discuss mid- and long-term economic growth and poverty projections at the bank’s annual general council meeting scheduled for early May in Hyderabad, India.
"The number of people in absolute poverty, who live on 1 dollars a day, is rapidly decreasing, but other problems have worsened as income disparity is widening as economies grow," he said. "We’re standing at an important crossroads."
Kuroda expressed concern that the soaring crude oil price might affect fast-growing Asian economies.
"We expect 7.2 percent growth for developing Asian countries, but if the current situation [regarding the crude oil price] continues for long, it’ll harm growth. More than 70 dollars per barrel is too much [for crude oil]," he said. "Though there are other worrisome factors—such as the extreme imbalance of international payments, rising interest rates and avian flu—the imminent threat is the crude oil price [surge]."
