bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

liveArticle

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

SCMP Reporter

Asean member states have pledged to steam ahead with trade liberalisation despite the economic woes brought on by the recent currency crisis.

 There had been fears some member countries might throw up new tariff barriers on imports to help reduce current account deficits which have undermined confidence in their currencies over the past few months.

 The Asean Free Trade Area (Afta) Council instead concluded yesterday that the liberalisation programme needed to be accelerated to make the Asean region more attractive to investors.

  The nine member countries pledged to begin implementing preferential tariffs for intra-Asean trade on 45,603 product lines next year, representing 81.9 per cent of goods traded within the region.

 This was higher than originally planned and included not only tariff lines member countries had earlier requested to be temporarily excluded but also new offers from debutantes Burma and Laos.

 Malaysian trade and industry minister Rafidah Aziz, who chaired the meeting, said greater liberalisation would promote greater intra-Asean trade and bring in capital from outside the region to take advantage of the more competitive market.

 'When this happens there will be economic development and opportunities within the region,' she said.

 Ministers agreed that currency turmoil made the implementation of Afta and Asean economic co-operation even more important.

 'This will enable Asean as a region, through the collective resilience of member countries, to be one resilient entity to face any future volatilities like those happening now,' Mrs Rafidah said.

 Member countries re-affirmed their commitment to realising the Asean dream of slashing average intra-Asean tariff rates for products on the inclusion list to 2.55 per cent by 2003 or earlier. Last year the average rate stood at 6.38 per cent, down from 12.76 per cent in 1993.

 They agreed that currency depreciations created conditions ripe for the expansion of exports both within and outside the region.

 'It has also created a window of opportunity for the region's industries to enter a period of consolidation and to make necessary adjustments to increase their competitiveness in the long-run,' a statement said.

  Burma and Laos also made their first pledges to international free trade since being invited into the Asean fold in July.

 Burma offered up 2,355 products for preferential tariff treatment in intra-Asean trade, representing 43 per cent of its tariff lines and pledged to include 2,987 more at a later date.

 Laos submitted 533 tariff lines for preferential tariff treatment now, or 15 per cent of its total, but put up a further 2,820, or 79.4 per cent, for future inclusion.

 Other initiatives taken yesterday included the harmonisation of standards on 20 product groups by 2001, a move intended to make life easier for customs.

 Ministers also discussed procedures that would require a member forced into a temporary tariff rise due to extreme economic hardship to inform its Asean partners of the increase within 60 days.

 The new procedure, which follows the outcry that greeted Indonesia's recent unilateral application of higher taxes on polyethylene, is expected to become effective from the second quarter of next year.



Asean views time as ripe to accelerate tariffs action