AEM 42: Improving Economic Cooperation

Addressing AEM 42, Vietnam Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung said the importance of a comprehensive, balanced and systematic approach in policy coordination and national and regional levels. He underscored the importance of practical and innovative solutions to promote the effective implementation of the AEC Blueprint by 2015, balanced and sustainable development policies, strengthening the current framework for economic cooperation between ASEAN and Dialogue Partners, concrete and robust measures to narrow down the development gap among countries and regions in ASEAN, and active participation of the community, especially ASEAN businesses and citizens for the successful establishment of AEC.

Ministers were pleased to note the realisation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) on 1 January 2010 as duties on 99.65 percent of all tariff lines under the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme for the ASEAN Free Trade Area (CEPT-AFTA) have been eliminated. For the newer ASEAN Member States – Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam (CLMV), 98.96 percent of total tariff lines are now within the tariff of 0-5 percent range. The tariff reduction schedules of ASEAN-6 – Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines and Thailand – have been uploaded in the ASEAN website (http://www.asean.org). The tariff reduction schedules of Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam will be uploaded in the website upon completion of the technical verification process. These tariff reduction schedules of ASEAN Member States form an integral part of the ATIGA.

 

The ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) was also pleased to note into force by Ministers on 17 May 2010. The ATIGA consolidates all of ASEAN’s existing initiatives, obligations and commitments on intra-ASEAN trade-in-goods, including both tariff and non-tariff elements, into one single comprehensive document. The list of Agreements to be superseded by the ATIGA is being finalised for subsequent annexing to the ATIGA.

 

Ministers noted the continuous work in the adoption of trade facilitating rules in ASEAN, particularly in the progress in reforming the existing certification regime to ensure free flow of ASEAN originating goods within the region. Ministers welcomed the conclusion of the Memorandum of Understanding of the Pilot Project for the Implementation of a Regional Self-Certification System, and looked forward to the timely implementation of the ASEAN Self-Certification System by 2012.

 

Ministers endorsed the updated ASEAN Trade Facilitation Work Program and the recommendation for each ASEAN Member States to conduct a survey of the status of trade facilitation as the first step to take stock of the current environment in ASEAN in 2010 - 2011. In this regard, Ministers tasked the officials to finalise the common set of questionnaire for the private and public sector to be used in the trade facilitation assessment as soon as possible.

 

Ministers also re-iterated their commitment to promote trade facilitation measures for free flow of goods in the region.

 

The positive progress in the verification of ASEAN Member States’ lists of Non Tariff Measures (NTMs), which would be published in the ASEAN Secretariat website in August 2010. They also encouraged closer coordination among the various ASEAN Sectoral Bodies to ensure smooth implementation of the mechanism to monitor NTMs under the ATIGA as well as to address operational challenges. Ministers re-affirmed their commitment to eliminate all forms of Non Tariff Barriers with the view to maximise the benefits from tariff reduction under the ATIGA.

The progress in the implementation of the various FTAs of ASEAN and were pleased to note the realisation of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) and the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA), and the entry into force of the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA), the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement and the ASEAN-China Investment Agreement on 1 January 2010. Ministers underlined the importance of the successful implementation of ASEAN’s Plus One FTAs in the emerging regional economic architecture in East Asia. Ministers noted concerns on low utilisation of the FTAs and urged relevant officials to intensify efforts to increase awareness of the benefits accruing from these FTAs and to make administrative procedures for obtaining certificates of origin more business-friendly.

 

The work of the ASEAN Plus Working Groups, which have been tasked to do follow-up work on the Ministers’ mandate to look into the recommendations in the EAFTA and CEPEA studies together, specifically in the prioritised areas of rules of origin, tariff nomenclature, customs procedures and economic cooperation. Ministers looked forward to receiving the reports of the ASEAN Plus Working Groups before the 17th ASEAN Summit.

 

Ministers took note that the ASEAN foreign Ministers have already adopted the ASEAN-GCC Two-Year Action Plan (2010-2012) at the 2nd ASEAN-GCC Ministerial Meeting. Ministers looked forward to receiving the recommendations from the roundtable discussion among senior economic officials on a possible trade and investment framework agreement (TIFA) and ASEAN-GCC FTA.