Asean-CCI tackles US trade barriers

The ASEAN chambers of Commerce and Industry is lobbying for the United States to support the movement to ban the patenting of life forms as well as to lift all trade restrictions on products entering the US market from Southeast Asia.

During the recent dialogue between US trade officials and the Asean-CCI held in Kuala Lumpur, Asean industry groups said they would draw up a common position on trade restrictions being imposed by the US and submit the same to the US government for action.

Asean-CCI president Jose Concepcion Jr. said the group had initially agreed to lobby for the US to address problems on corporate bio-piracy and biological patents in the wake of the unregulated patenting of genetic materials, plants and other biological resources.

According to Concepcion, some of these biological resources have been identified, developed and used by farmers and indigenous peoples mainly in developing countries and should not be patented by big corporations.

"The US should support the call to ban patenting of life forms which curtails the rights of indegenious people to trade products based on their traditional knowledge to countries where the patent has been granted," Concepcion said.

The Asean-CCI also asked the US to immediately lift the embargo on shrimp in compliance with the decision of the World Trade Organization's decision that this is inconsistent with WTO obligations.

Moreover, the Asean-CCI said the US should also eliminate its discriminatory practices on tropical timber and rubber gloves. The US proposed bills should include temperate and boreal timbers and not single out tropical timber for certification.

During the dialogue, business groups asked the US to suspend its unilateral and modified Rules of Origin which they said was "clearly a non-tariff barrier ahead of the quota-free regime by 2005."

The Asean-CCI said the US should lift the restriction on 16 specified product categories for textile and clothing adding the US should revert to its Rules of Origin prior to 1996 while the WTO Committee on Rules of Origin was deliberating on the matter.

According to Concepcion, the country's 764 exporters to the US have been asked to identify the products that encounter restrictions into the US market and specify the trade barriers that they experienced in whatever form. He said this would be submitted to the US government within 30 days for appropriate action. --