ISDS Case Map
ASEAN
Industry players are generally the most affected stakeholders in any free trade agreement (FTA), but they continually feel they are being left out of the FTA negotiation process. The implementation of the FTA between China and ASEAN nations -- which would see almost all import duties slashed starting on Wednesday and gradually dropping to zero by 2010 -- is the latest example.
Analysts have said it is a matter of time before China will replace Japan as the ASEAN's largest trade partner.
Starting on July 20, Indonesia and five other members of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) begin the journey of entering a free trade agreement (FTA) with China -- creating a massive single market of approximately 1.8 billion people.
The government must not relent under any pressure from ASEAN countries to dilute the Rules of Origin that India has framed before signing the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement with Singapore, the Indian Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry has said.
Owing to slow multilateral trade negotiations, the European Union and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) -- two of the world's most important trading blocs -- are moving toward a free trade agreement as a means of boosting two-way trade.
From July 20, China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are scheduled to lower tariffs on more than 7,000 industrial goods. But according to a recent survey carried out by the China-ASEAN Business Council, 99% of Chinese entrepreneurs had not yet read the Agreement on Trade in Goods while concepts like FTA, ASEAN and ASEAN 10 plus one were new to some respondents.
As the struggle for regional economic dominance in Northeast Asia heats up, the battle for free trade agreements (FTAs) has reached a new level, which may not only see the weakening of the multilateral trade system, but also the cancerous growth of geopolitical influence in regional trade.
Indonesia will not seek to sign bilateral agreements with China outside the China-Asean Free Trade Area (CAFTA) scheme when President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono visits that country later this week.
Free-trade talks between Thailand and Japan may be edging toward a conclusion, thanks to better-than-expected results in the most recent round of discussions in Tokyo last week, according to a source close to the bilateral negotiations.
The free trade agreement between China and 10 Southeast Asian Nations taking effect this month poses considerable challenges to Korea. The China-ASEAN FTA, or CAFTA, will form the world's third-largest trading bloc, following NAFTA and the EU.
