ASEAN-6 ACHIEVED ZERO TARIFF FOR TRADING

Jakarta, Dec 31 (ANTARA) - ASEAN-6 agreed to achieve "Zero tariff" for it's member countries consisting of Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to be able importing and exporting of almost every goods crossing the border those without tariffs.

Based on a press release received by ANTARA on Thursday, the agreement implementation will begin on January 1, 2010, and the additional tariffs for the ASEAN-6 countries members will be removed
Elimination of tariffs by the ASEAN-6 affirmed as the ASEAN's commitment to eliminate tariffs and maintaining an open trade intra-ASEAN countries, it also serves as a catalyst for the development of a single market and production base that is projected by the blueprint of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC).

The impact of the large number of real and final installment will be translated into savings for consumers who depend on market dynamics of each country of ASEAN-6.

Secretary-General of ASEAN, Dr Surin Pitsuwan, said that ASEAN is hoped that all parties will act to ensure that all people can benefit from this tariff reduction.

As for the business community, especially the downstream producers, Dr Surin said that they also stand to gain. ?Lower cost of inputs will allow the business community a wider choice of goods, and in the process, they will move towards becoming more competitive globally, as envisaged in the AEC Blueprint,? he added.

The CEPT-AFTA covers the whole range of products traded by the ASEAN Member States and provides for the gradual reduction in tariffs of these products, which has been ongoing since 1993.

Under the CEPT-AFTA schedule for tariff reduction, each ASEAN Member State is allowed to place their products in the normal track, where the commitment is for the tariffs to be reduced to zero by 2010 for ASEAN-6 and 2015 for the remaining four countries, namely Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar and Viet Nam.

In 2010, the rest four countries will also see the reduction of tariffs under the CEPT-AFTA commitment by five percent, where the average tariff will decline three percent in 2009 to 2.61 percent.

Under the CEPT-AFTA, agricultural products such as tobacco, coffee, live animals and animal products, which are under the sensitive list (Sensitive List / SL), the charge will be reduced to five percent in 2010 and to zero tariffs on 2015.

The Highly Sensitive List (HSL), comprising rice, will have their tariffs capped on a specified date. As for the General Exclusion List (GEL), the tariffs will remain based on factors such as national security and morals/health/aesthetic/archaeological grounds (e.g.: weapons and opium).

As of today, 487 tariff lines or 0.89 percent of tariff lines for ASEAN-6 still remain in the SL, HSL and GEL categories.

Besides tariff liberalisation, ASEAN is also embarking on parallel initiatives in trade facilitation to complement tariff reduction.

ASEAN is also actively working on formulating streamlined and simplified customs procedures for clearance of goods, eliminating non-tariff measures, developing the ASEAN Single Window and the ASEAN Trade Repository, improving investment protection, providing for dispute settlement and better Intellectual Property Rights regime and removing the obstacles hindering the movement of professional and skilled workers.