ASEAN and WTO, AFTA and FTAs

1
ASEAN and WTO, AFTA and FTAs

• Summary of Discussions
• 4 October 2005

2
Outline of summary

• Status-ASEAN and AFTA-ASEAN and WTO-ASEAN and
  FTAs
• Issues and Concerns
• Proposals to ASEAN
• Homework for civil society

3
Status ASEAN and AFTA

• AFTA established in 1993
• Goal was the complete abolition of tariffs for
  the ASEAN-6 by 2010 and 2015 for newer members.
• Reaching its goal

4
Status ASEAN and WTO

• Original 6 ASEAN members are members of WTO
• Newest member is Cambodia from ASEAN, Vietnam
  accession hopefully by 2005, Lao PDR applying
• Involvement in disputes and as respondents
  Indonesia, Malaysia, Phils, Singapore, Thailand
• NOT A TRADING BLOC, BUT DISCUSS WTO NEGOTIATIONS
  DURING COUNCIL MEETINGS FOR EXCHANGE OF
  INFORMATION AND IDEAS

5
Status ASEAN and WTO

• Not known to carry common positions except group
  push for DG Supachai
• ASEAN members in other WTO nego blocks- Cairns,
  G20, G33

6
Status ASEAN and FTAs

• ASEAN-Japan CEPT (by 2012)
• ASEAN China by (2015)
• ASEAN India by (2011)
• EU-ASEAN
• US Enterprise for ASEAN Initiative
• Bilaterals by Singapore,Thailand, Vietnam,
  Malaysia, PHILS, Vietnam ( not FTA) with US, NZ,
  Japan, Australia

7
Status ASEAN andBITs/BIAs

• ASEAN-10 Japan China and Korea signed 475 BITs
• Power of TNCs can sue governments but to be
  sued --thru international tribunal or ad hoc
  arbitration

8
Issues and concerns

• Is ASEAN relevant as a grouping?No strong
  identification and articulation of regional
  interest
• -still relevant-but presence not yet felt in
  WTO negotiations

9
Issues and concern

• Less intra ASEAN trade
• Absence of wide ranging participation from CS,
  including business sector
• AoA framework has caused the widespread collapse
  of rural economies in a number of countries,
  displacing communities and increasing forced
  internal and external migration.

10
Issues and concerns

• Re migrants
• ---more on to improve the efficacy of
  immigration control, and hardly discussing the
  protection of migrant workers rights
• ---doing this, workers, women and migrants are
  treated as tradable
• ---mass deportation of migrants- lack of
  dialogue with sending governments
• ---More restrictions re flow of migrant labor

11
Issues and concerns

• mass deportation of migrants- lack of dialogue
  with sending governments
• More restrictions re flow of migrant labor

12
Proposals to ASEAN

• Make as a serious goal the development of an
  ASEAN market
• Create an alternative system of development
  finance
• A stronger ASEAN voice with common positions in
  common issues

13
Proposals to ASEAN

• Negotiate using the framework of sustainable
  rural development and the nations right to
  produce its staple food in sufficient quantities,
  having in mind the protection and welfare of the
  small farmers and producers who forms the bulk of
  Asian agricultural sector

14
Proposals to ASEAN

• Civil society have implemented worthwhile
  alternatives to globalization, including some
  alternatives on trading and marketing. We ask
  ASEAN governments to recognize these
  alternatives, and study them for possible
  replication and mainstreaming

15
Proposals to ASEAN

• ASEAN to imagine and construct an alternative
  world based on the fundamental principles
  respecting human rights and human dignity

16
Proposals to ASEAN-specific

• ASEAN to review the impact of neo liberal
  policies -WTO-AoA, TRIPS, GATS, NAMA etc to
  poorer people of society
• Work for significant reduction of trade
  distorting subsidies of developed countries while
  giving sufficient government support for small
  farmers and producers to become more competitive
• caution about the impact of current GATS
  4-expansion negotiation

17
Proposal to ASEAN

• Involve civil society in policy making, in
  formulating negotiation points eg. Phil and
  Indonesia experience
• Can ASEAN be a hub in global trade negotiations?-
  divergent interests
• Table the concept of development financing esp in
  meeting the MDGs a caring ASEAN

18
Homework for civil society

• Can we study Japan and Koreas model deeply? What
  was the development framework? What were the
  strategies?
• Study more on impact of liberalization as it
  relates to poverty reduction

19
Homework for civil society

• united front of civil society must be able to
  define, in consultation with developing country
  blocs, a framework of engagement and
  coordination covering all the issues, inclusive,
  most importantly, of substantive and technical
  support