ISDS Case Map
ASEAN
"We want it to start as soon as possible, even next month or in two months' time if possible," Sean Doyle, ambassador and head of the Delegation of the European Commission to Vietnam, said
"The Philippines has not so far signaled its readiness to engage in this way," EU Ambassador Alistair MacDonald said, referring to plans to forge bilateral trade pacts after attempts to broker a broader agreement with the 10-member ASEAN hit a roadblock early last year.
Indonesian Trade Minister Mari Elka Pangestu on Monday dismissed criticism that she had been slow to respond to concerns about the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement, insisting the ministry has been engaged in “informal communications” about the deal with Asean.
The Philippines might lose an opportunity to get first crack at negotiating a bilateral trade deal with the European Union as three Southeast Asian neighbors are already in line.
The Malaysian government is committed to the regional free trade agreement (FTA) with China that came into force on Jan 1, although some parties have expressed concerns the trade liberalisation agreement would hurt local manufacturers.
Lack of information, coupled with procedural problems, discouraged companies from fully taking advantage of the potential benefits of a free-trade scheme in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), a working paper authored by trade experts from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) revealed.
"ASEAN-China free trade is an inhuman and immoral trade," says Hasan Basri, head of the Jakarta chapter of Indonesia's traditional market traders association
The propaganda mills, especially in Beijing, have been trumpeting the FTA as bringing “mutual benefits” to China and Asean. The reality, however, is that most of the advantages will probably flow to China, writes Walden Bello.
Indonesia has asked to re-write a new regional trade pact with China, citing fears of job losses due to a flood of cheap Chinese imports across various sectors, officials said Wednesday.
In the latest and most authoritative warning about a new region-wide free-trade agreement with China, an executive with the state social security provider PT Jamsostek predicts that as many to two million Indonesians will be laid off because their firms can’t outperform their Chinese rivals.
