11 - A Miscellany of Trade Issues

Summary

The business-sector presentations were followed by views expressed by business personalities, ASEAN officials and those from thinktanks specializing in ASEAN issues.

NON-TARIFF BARRIERS (NTBS)

It was agreed that the deadline of five years for the removal of non-tariff barriers in ATIGA was “unrealistic”. It was “more of a paper assessment” but had to be retained in ATIGA as a commitment. NTBs were a “moving target” and therefore had to be eliminated on a continuous basis. It was generally felt that some non-tariff measures were necessary and accordingly it was best to adopt a “measured approach” and target “barrier components” of these measures for elimination. ASEAN planned to issue guidelines on how to implement non-tariff measures such as import licensing procedures.

ATIGA sought to eliminate NTBs through trade facilitation. Measures such as the harmonized tariff nomenclatures, the ASEAN window, et cetera, were attempts towards making progress although they were not fully operational yet.

THE RESPONSIBILITY OF THE PRIVATE SECTOR

ASEAN Secretariat officials felt that the private sector needed to take a keener interest in ASEAN. It needed to keep abreast of ASEAN developments and “prod” the public sector.

ASEAN was considering the possibility of obtaining privatesector inputs on NTBs through a joint consultative committee on trade facilitation. It was hoped that the private sector would speak up. It was mentioned that the private sector's common excuse was that they had the “right to remain silent”.

THE ISSUE OF CORRUPTION

A participant observed that the likely reason for the business people's reluctance to voice concerns was that they were “scared of retaliation” from certain authorities. He added that no one had raised the issue of corruption as a non-tariff barrier. One of the private-sector commentators felt that the silence on corruption was a manifestation of the ASEAN tendency to “keep things comfortable”. He added that a survey of ASEAN businesses, across all sectors, had been carried out to determine their concerns and their perceptions in relation to non-tariff measures. However, this study had never been released, since it highlighted the issue of corruption in ASEAN.