BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, tribe 10 Kyodo...

BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN, tribe 10 Kyodo

Economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are wait fored to come up with strange strategies to accelerate regional economic integration when they assemble later this week.

At their annual gathering, in Brunei's capital Bandar Seri Begawan onward Thursday, they will likely agree to advance the date for the four newer members of ASEAN -- Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam -- to lower tariffs upon goods to below 5% from one year, ASEAN sources said.

subordinate to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), ASEAN's original six members -- Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand -- have wound tariffs to below 5%.

The anticipated accord will bring forward the completing year of tariff reduction to 2005 for Vietnam, to 2007 for Laos and Myanmar and to 2009 for Cambodia.

The measure is intended to make ASEAN a more attractive investment destination at a time when investors from around the globe are piling into China, where labor splendors are cheaper than in Southeast Asia.

The ASEAN economic ministers are also calculate uponed to examine their so-called ''10 minus X'' principle of allowing the more advanced countries expand their markets in certain sectors sooner than a certain quantity of of the less-developed members.

According to a draft joint statement, a fac-simile of which was made available to Kyodo just discovereds they ''agreed that the 10 minus X principle should be applied to more areas and sectors of ASEAN economic cooperation'' than agreed to during their retreat in Malaysia's Genting Highlands in July

Their earlier agreement said the novel flexibility should be applied to services liberalization, investment, information technology, air services and mutual recognition of production registration approvals.

The ASEAN ministers are also proper to hold talks from Friday between the walls of Sunday with their counterparts from elucidation allies such as Japan, China, Australia, of the present day Zealand, India and the United States.

At Friday's meeting with Chinese Foreign Trade and Economic Cooperation Minister Shi Guansheng, they are fit to endorse a draft framework agreement for a 10-year released trade area (FTA) and approve it for signing at the ASEAN-China summit in Phnom Penh in November.

The envisaged FTA would allow China's import duties forward certain ASEAN products to be phased on the outside well ahead of the FTA taking consequence While China says the ''early harvest'' should be limited to agricultural results ASEAN insists industrial and other non-farm proceedss also be included.

At another meeting forward Friday, the ASEAN economic ministers and Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Takeo Hiranuma are likely to endorse a report calling for ASEAN and Japan to start negotiations to hold up economic ties through efforts similar as a regional FTA.

The draft report says the partnership would guarantee ''comprehensiveness of sectors'' and not hinder any particular sector as a whole, so as the agricultural sector, whose liberalization is politically sensitive in Japan.

As the first pace toward materializing the alliance, they will place up a committee comprised of control officials from both sides to consider a framework providing a basis for conglomerated plans and content in time for a Japan-ASEAN summit in the fall nearest year.

Other meetings to be held this week include a gathering of economic ministers from Japan, southern Korea and China on Friday and a session of economic ministers from ASEAN plus Japan, southern Korea and China forward Saturday.

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