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Tuesday, May 16, 2006
ASEAN trade ministers discuss plans to create single market by 2015 (11:30 a.m.)
MANILA -- Southeast Asian trade ministers were to continue talks Tuesday on speeding up economic integration and turning their region into a single market by 2015, five years earlier than planned.
The talks, which end Tuesday, were set to explore pushing forward the creation of an ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, originally slated for 2020.
It would allow the free flow of goods, services and people across the region, which proponents say would boost trade and investment. The plans do not call for a single currency.
The ministers were set to meet South Korean Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong and European Union trade chief Peter Mandelson to discuss free-trade pact proposals.
But Mandelson told reporters that Asean military-ruled member Myanmar's "lack of democracy and abuse of human rights" could be an obstacle, but he pledged not to let talks be derailed.
"We need to find a way through these problems that enables us to negotiate for the benefit of many, rather than to be held hostage by one country. I will be discussing that in due course with my counterparts in Asean," he said.
Myanmar's poor human rights record has traditionally been a divisive issue between the EU and Asean. The EU wants Asean to take tougher action over the military junta. Asean, which has a policy of not interfering in members' affairs, says it can prod but not force Myanmar to change.
The proposal to accelerate the AEC's formation was made by the bloc's leaders at their summit in December.
"The idea is to see how we can operationalize many of the initiatives and schemes for economic integration," Asean Secretary General Ong Keng Yong told reporters. "There is not enough momentum."
Asean countries have already lowered tariffs for most products among themselves under a regional free trade pact, but the pace of liberalization in services trade remains sluggish, and many non-tariff barriers are hindering growth in the region, which has a market of 530 million people but accounts for only 6 percent of global exports.
Philippine Trade Secretary Peter Favila said delegates would evaluate proposals for "strong doses of liberalization and trade facilitation" for 11 priority sectors - automotive, tourism, electronics, health care, air travel, agriculture, technology, wood-based products, fisheries, textiles and rubber-based products.
Ministers from Thailand, Malaysia and Vietnam could not attend the meeting due to other commitments, officials said. They are represented by senior officials.
The other members are Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar and Singapore and the Philippines.(AP) |
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