RP to push for speedy liberalization of tariffs under Asean AFTA

The Philippines will continue to push for an acceleration of liberalization of tariffs by 2007 under the ASEAN Free Trade Arrangement-Common Effective Preferential Tariff (AFTA-CEPT) scheme for certain product categories including electronics, according to Bureau of International Trade Relations (BITR) director Ramon Vicente Kabigting.

According to Kabigting, the forthcoming ASEAN Economic Ministers’ Retreat in Boracay from May 15 to 16 is supposed to give the AEM participants a relaxed overview of the remaining tasks and policy decisions that need to be taken to achieve the goals of the earlier AEM meeting in Bali.

During the AEM meeting in Bali, the goal was to create a fully integrated ASEAN community with the three key legs being security, socio-cultural and economic.

Under the envisioned economic community there would be full integration through 11 identified sectors with the Philippines as the coordinator for the electronics.

While the Philippines has repeatedly pushed for the removal of tariffs for the electronic sector by 2007, some ASEAN senior economic officials appear reluctant to go along with the proposal of the Philippines.

The Philippines had explained that in pushing for the acceleration the electronics industry would take the lead in boosting trade and the integration of the region into one market environment.

The zero tariff proposal for electronics is part of the draft roadmap for the electronics industry that was presented during a previous AEM retreat.

Other ASEAN ministers, particularly Malaysia, have argued that the deadlines had already been advanced to 2007 from 2010 and other members might have sensitive sectors such as consumer electronics for which they might be less comfortable to impose an earlier deadline for full elimination of tariffs.

A zero tariff on electronics, the Philippines has said, would enable manufacturers to lower the cost of production, making the export of ASEAN electronics and semiconductor products competitive and at the same time make the industry attractive for investments.

The Philippines had also argued that "if ASEAN were to collectively take advantage of its competitive strengths by adopting an industry clustering approach and act as a single production base with zero tariffs, harmonized and mutually-recognized standards and paperless exchange of goods, then like China, ASEAN could present itself as a supplier base and manufacturing platform."