“In support of greater integration with the global economy, Asean
countries are actively working to launch the start of negotiations for the
Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership [RCEP] with China, Japan, Korea,
India, Australia and New Zealand by the end of this year,” Asean deputy
secretary-general Lim Hong Hin told a business forum in Makati City Tuesday.
Hin said Asean aimed to start
negotiations with China, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand and India
before the end of the year. “Despite differences, we want to move forward… and
come out with a guiding principle to create RECP,” Hin said.
He said compared with the
Trans-Pacific Partnership, RCEP would be more feasible and realistic. “Once
completed, it will be the largest FTA in the world,” Hin said, adding Asean
alone is comprised of about 600 million people.
Hin said efforts to create RCEP
involved consolidating all the free trade agreements which the Asean member
countries entered into. “The goal here is to promote wider economic
integration,” he said.
Hin, however, discounted the idea
of creating a single currency for Asean, saying “the time is not ripe for a
discussion on a single currency just like the euro.”
He conceded realizing the
envisioned Asean Economic Community was not easy, because of measures that
needed to be implemented or complied with before 2015.
The Asean Economic Community aims
for a single market and production base characterized by free flow of goods,
services, investments, capital and skilled labor.
“Despite progress in a number of
areas, 28 percent of AEC measures due to be implemented for 2008-2011 are still
pending as of end-August 2012,” he said.
The measures include trade
facilitation (customs modernization standard and conformance), services
liberalization, investment, agriculture, consumer protection, and ratification
of transport agreements.
He said the reasons for the delay
in implementation of these measures could be linked to the failure to comply
with decisions, treaties and protocols at the national levels.
“Others point to implementation
bottlenecks due to lack of necessary funds to support the integration measures,
especially at the national level,” he said.
Hin said “this is a concern
because failure of many Asean countries to follow through on their commitments
may undermine the success of AEC.”
Julito G. Rada
Business & Investment Opportunities
YourVietnamExpert is a division of Saigon Business Corporation Pte Ltd, Incorporated in Singapore since 1994. As Your Business Companion, we propose a range of services in Strategy, Investment and Management, focusing Healthcare and Life Science with expertise in ASEAN. Since we are currently changing the platform of www.yourvietnamexpert.com, you may contact us at: sbc.pte@gmail.com, provisionally. Many thanks.
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