Asean trade ministers set priority industries under single market

Trade officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) have identified the priority sectors in the creation of a single market and seamless production base under the Asean Economic Community, the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) said.

In a statement, the DTI said Asean trade ministers attending the Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Siem Reap, Cambodia identified the priority integration sectors as follows: agro-based, automotive, electronics, e-Asean, fisheries, health care, textiles and apparel, rubber, wood-based, air travel, tourism and logistics.

Also, the Philippines’ request to immediately address the trade-financing crunch generated favorable response, as other member-countries “shared the concern of Philippine exporters that credit is drying up,” the DTI said.

This prompted Indonesia and Singapore to jointly prepare a paper that will fast-track the G-20’s plan to help developing countries finance their exports. Both Indonesia and Singapore are members of the G-20.

The DTI said Asean trade officials have come up with a rating system that will measure the region’s performance vis-à-vis targets under the Asean Economic Community blueprint.

“Declaring it a work in progress, ministers called for strict but accurate evaluation of how the region as a whole and its individual member-states delivered against their commitments to implement liberalization measures,” the DTI said.

Asean trade officials also re-affirmed commitments to the Asean Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), “noting that the value add of this codification of Asean trade in goods practices, lies in the explicit, comprehensive tariff schedules representing each member’s commitments, appended to ATIGA.”

The Asean urged members-countries to implement these tariff schedules on time, the DTI said.

The regional grouping reminded the Philippines in particular to eliminate tariffs on the 20-percent remaining lines under its Common Effective Preferential Tariff liberalization commitments by January 1, 2010. The Asean also told the Philippines to submit a schedule and an end-rate for rice, as well as address the country’s high tariffs on sugar, the DTI said. –Ben Arnold O. de Vera, Reporter, Manila Times