Sunday, September 5, 2004
Australia, New Zealand, Asean expect FTA by '07
REUTERS
JAKARTA: Southeast Asian nations, Australia and New Zealand hope to conclude a free trade agreement (FTA) by ‘07 after beginning formal negotiations next year, Australian trade minister Mark Vaile said.
Economic and trade ministers from Australia, New Zealand and the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) agreed to negotiating principles for an FTA during a meeting in Jakarta.
Mr Vaile said the ministers’ recommendation that negotiations begin in ‘05 and be concluded within two years, will go to Asean heads of government for formal approval at a meeting in Laos in November.
“It is incredibly important that we move to this much higher level of integration within our region,” he said.
“I don’t see any major obstacles at this stage. There will be issues obviously in the course of the negotiation that we need to address... There will be requests for phased implementation of some of the measures.”
In April, Asean proposed launching free trade talks with Australia and New Zealand. Mr Vaile said studies showed that an FTA could bring an estimated total economic gain to the 12 countries involved, of some A$48bn annually. Two-way trade between just Australia and Asean in merchandise and services totalled more than A$40bn ($28bn) in ‘03.
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