Two-Pronged Strategy Towards Freer AFTA-CER Trade

  • Dr Lockwood Smith
International Trade

Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) and Closer Economic Relations (CER) trade ministers have agreed to a two-pronged strategy towards freer trade in the region, International Trade Minister Lockwood Smith reports.

At their meeting in Kuala Lumpur on Friday, the ministers considered reports by ASEAN and CER business community representatives detailing the barriers to trade which member states continue to maintain.

The ministers agreed to:

  • require officials to standardise the reports, explain the perceived reasons for the barriers and identify which of them could be dealt with easily through bilateral negotiations; and
  • request that business community representatives of both ASEAN and CER work with officials to identify priorities for freeing up trade between the two regions.

Officials are expected to report back to ministers on the former as soon as possible, while the work on priorities will be considered at the next informal AFTA-CER consultations in the Philippines in September or October next year.

"The business communities of both ASEAN and CER have done excellent work in preparing their respective reports," Dr Smith said. "We now want to sort out why countries believe certain barriers are in place. That'll tell us which barriers do not have any real justification. Bilateral work can then proceed quickly and easily towards removing them."

Dr Smith said the second part of the strategy was important because it would inform ministers of the barriers that business believed were the greatest impediments to trade between ASEAN and CER countries.

"For example, if business tells us that quarantine issues are a widespread problem, we'll know to make that a priority. Alternatively, it could be certain customs rules or tariffs. We need this feedback from business because our work is ultimately designed to assist the private sector to improve the living standards of people throughout the region. There's no point us using taxpayers' money to work on issues that business does not see as particularly important," Dr Smith said.