ASEAN ministers to finalise FTAs with Japan, China
Reuters | Wed Aug 22, 2007
ASEAN ministers to finalise FTAs with Japan, China
MANILA (Reuters) — Southeast Asian economic ministers will finalise a blueprint for economic cooperation in the region and push free trade deals with six dialogue partners at a weekend meeting in Manila, Philippine officials said on Wednesday.
The 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) would prioritise free trade pacts with Japan, China, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, and India as talks with these six dialogue partners have already started, Philippine Trade Secretary Peter Favila told Reuters.
There was "substantial progress" in discussions for a free trade agreement (FTA) with Japan, Favila said.
"Let’s finish first what’s on the table. We also have to manage expectations of the stakeholders, the community," Favila said regarding free trade talks.
"We want to proceed in an orderly fashion so let’s finish one FTA at a time."
Favila added that discussions for an FTA between the regional grouping and the European Union and the United States have been deferred for now to give way for the conclusion of trade talks with the six dialogue partners.
Ramon Vicente Kabigting, director of the Philippines’ Bureau of International Trade Relations, said ASEAN ministers would try to finish an investment agreement that would seal an FTA with China within the year.
An ASEAN-India FTA would likely take more time unless India relaxes its tariff treatment for special goods such as crude and refined palm oil, coffee, tea and black pepper and take out petroleum products from a sensitive list of goods whose tariffs will not be eliminated.
Southeast Asia’s combined economy is bigger than India’s.
"Unless they budge on petroleum, there will be at least one ASEAN country that will suffer. That is Brunei," Kabigting said.
Economic ministers of Southeast Asia, home to more than 560 million people, have previously agreed to remove duties on 3,523 tariff lines starting January this year and drop non-tariff barriers in the region in three phases starting 2008.
All non-tariff barriers are expected to be removed by 2010.
