EU and ASEAN to study possible free trade deal
Jakarta Post, 27 April 2005
EU and ASEAN to study possible free trade deal
HALONG, Vietnam (Reuters): The European Community and the Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN) have agreed to study the potential for a free trade agreement between the two groups, trade officials said on Wednesday.
EU Trade Commissioner Peter Mandelson and ASEAN, meeting in Vietnam at a two-day ASEAN economics and trade ministers retreat, also agreed to give priority to improving existing trade in electronics, agriculture, fisheries and wood-based products.
"I am pleased to add my support to our agreement this morning to undertake a high-level feasibility study for a Free Trade Agreement between the EU and ASEAN," Mandelson said at a news conference during the retreat in Halong, about 150 km east of the Vietnam capital, Hanoi.
A task force with representatives from both sides would report back by the end of the year, officials said.
The 10 members of ASEAN — Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam — could learn from the European integration experience, said Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu, who chaired meeting.
Mari said on Tuesday the group was giving priority to supporting a single customs model for its members as part of an overall goal of integrating trade.
A pilot project is underway in the Philippines for an ASEAN "single window for customs" and the group hoped all members would agree by next year to use the model of a uniform set of documentation for trade, Mari said.
"That is a very important and crucial part of theimplementation of the integration of the primary sectors," of goods and services, she said.
