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PLANS TO LURE Japanese firms and simplify rules for small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were among the initiatives firmed up during last week’s ASEAN economic ministers meeting, a Philippine trade official yesterday said.
Businessmen also pushed for a regional roll-on/roll-off (RORO) network, which will primarily benefit SME exporters, to further improve trade flows.
The efforts were laid down as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations moves to meet integration goals amid economic troubles in Europe and the United States that could lead to a fresh global downturn.
The 43rd ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) meeting, held from August 10-14 in Manado, Indonesia, affirmed plans to hold a roadshow next year as Japanese firms consider relocating abroad to spread disaster risks.
“Japanese officials presented an outline of how the road show will go on. The plan is to have one by spring 2012 — between March and April — in Tokyo and maybe Osaka,” Trade assistant secretary Ramon T. Kabigting told BusinessWorld.
Mr. Kabigting, who attended the four-day AEM with Trade Secretary Gregory L. Domingo, said the roadshow would also pave the way for a 10-year road map proposed during an ASEAN-Japan joint dialogue last month to help the East Asian country reach broader markets in China and India.
“Japan wants to sell into those markets … [and] there exists free trade agreement (FTA) networks in the ASEAN connecting to India and China. This is where the 10-year road map comes in,” Mr. Kabigting explained.
ASEAN members also agreed to continue and broaden the scope of a self-certification training program to speed up trade facilitation for SMEs, he said.
“There is an existing pilot project … which has three participants, Singapore, Brunei, and Malaysia. It will be extended one more year and Thailand has expressed plans to join,” Mr. Kabigting added.
“Other countries, like the Philippines, want to join but cannot accept the rule of the pilot project which says that the certified exporter who can participate may be a manufacturer or a trader. The Philippines wants an easier condition where we train manufacturers first and ministers agreed that other members can set up this trial alongside the pilot.”
Self-certification is seen as a faster and more affordable means of determining local content and qualification for preferential tariff rates as it does not involve the examination and approval of exports by the Customs bureau.
“Secretary Domingo already instructed officials to set up expeditiously the legal framework for implementing self-certification so we can make it available in the first quarter of 2012,” Mr. Kabigting said.
The ASEAN Business Advisory Council, meanwhile, issued its own proposal that economic ministers begin coordinating state policies to realize a regional RORO network.
“Secretary Domingo, at the economic ministers meeting, said … ASEAN governments should respond to this project by alerting their customs, immigration, and quarantine arms and agencies to be ready to service the ports that have already been identified in this RORO network,” Mr. Kabigting said.
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By: Eliza J. Diaz
Source: Business World, Aug. 16, 2011
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