Asean+3 urged not to put up trade barriers

MANILA, Philippines — The Philippines called on other countries in Southeast Asia and partners China, Japan and South Korea to avoid putting barriers to trade in essential goods and to work on setting up a regional reserve of critical medicines as part of measures to deal with the impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 or COVID-19 pandemic.

In a statement, Trade Secretary Ramon Lopez said countries should refrain from implementing non-tariff measures that may derail the production and supply of essential goods.

“In this critical time, we should refrain from imposing unnecessary non-tariff measures, such as export prohibitions and restrictions, to ensure adequate supplies of essential goods necessary to fight the pandemic,” Lopez said.

He also pushed for the creation of the ASEAN Emergency Reserves for critical medicines and medical supplies to be prepared for a similar crisis in the future.

During the online meeting of ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)+3, economic ministers affirmed the need to keep the markets open for trade and investment and ensure stable supply and smooth flow of essential goods.

The ministers also recognized the need to continue cooperation on food security and sustainability of regional supply chains particularly for food, medicines, and other essential supplies in the region.

In addition, ministers consider it necessary to support businesses, especially micro, small and medium enterprises, as well as to encourage innovation and use of technologies for continued business operations.

Ministers agreed to work together for post-pandemic recovery, stabilize manufacturing and supply chains of goods and services for stability and resilience of the regional economy, restore growth and connectivity, and to make the economy more resilient and less vulnerable to future internal and external crises.

They also adopted a Joint ASEAN Plus Three Ministerial Statement to reflect steps to be undertaken to mitigate the pandemic’s impact on the economy.

“This pandemic has shown us the vulnerabilities of our supply chains. We see that by continuing to work together, we will be able to consolidate our individual efforts, that of relevant sectoral bodies, and our other partners into a coordinated strategy that will ensure the smooth flow of essential goods and services in combating COVID-19 in the region, as well as minimize disruptions in our supply chains,” Lopez said.