Asean integration: Settle non-tarriff barriers that slow down trade

The Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) is focusing on tackling non-tariff barriers that impede inter-Asean (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) trade as it prepares the country for the upcoming Asean Economic Community next year.

Since January 2010, most of the import duties in Asean have already been reduced to 0 percent, said Trade Undersecretary Adrian S. Cristobal Jr. in a recent forum.
Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand have eliminated import duties on 99.65 percent of trade tariff lines, while the four other member states of the Asean—Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam—have 98.86 percent of their traded tariff lines reduced to 0 to 5 percent.

Cristobal said there is a need to define the Philippines’ trade and economic interests in Southeast Asian and in the larger Asia Pacific region.
He noted the need for “sustained and constructive engagements with the private sector that will help us in identifying areas of concern in the Asean and Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation) economies.”

“Both are our markets for exports, raw materials, and intermediate goods as well as a source and destination of investments,” Cristobal said.
On the Apec front, Foreign Affairs Undersecretary Laura del Rosario presented priority themes for as well as the timetable their implementation. Suggested themes are regional economic integration, mainstreaming small and medium enterprises (SMEs), food security and inclusive growth, among others.

In response to the government’s pronouncements, the business community reportedly agreed to continue the dialogue among members of the public and private sectors through more frequent and focused discussions in areas such as energy, services, SMEs, emergency preparedness, food security and connectivity and logistics. /inquirer.net