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THE
Sixth Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) by European Union (EU)
and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) trade
officials in Hanoi on October 13 and 14 is expected to
focus on technical barriers to trade (TBT) and how to
manage the impact of technical regulations on business
that has resulted in the failure of several attempts to
access developed markets such as the EU.
In view
of this emphasis on trade barriers, officials of both
blocs see a possible TBT agreement as part of the
proposed free-trade pact between these two of the
world’s biggest regional blocs.
Gabriel
Munuera Vinals, head of political and economic affairs
of the delegation of the European Commission to the
Philippines, said the 6th JCM is also a continuation of
the discussions of the main sectors to be covered by the
free trade agreement (FTA) between the EU and Asean.
An
agreement on TBT is prescribed in the World Trade
Organization rules to ensure that regulations,
standards, and testing and certification procedures do
not create obstacles to international trade.
Technical regulations may be intended to protect human
health and safety, but many developing nations such as
the Philippines view these rules as protectionist
barriers by rich economies.
In any
event, a TBT agreement will enable the EU and Asean
economies to get acquainted with the technical
regulations and conformity assessment procedures being
applied by both parties.
Vinals
said the proposed free-trade deal, meanwhile, also seeks
cooperation on emerging issues like sustainable
development, climate changes and corporate social
responsibilities that have not been covered in the
existing agreements between the two blocs.
Individual Asean members will first need to sign a
partnership cooperation agreement (PCA) with the EU to
be able to qualify for the FTA. A PCA seeks to cover
cooperation on wide-ranging issues that include trade,
promotion of human rights, good governance, as well as
the commitment to ratify the 1998 Rome Statute of the
International Criminal Court (ICC).
So far,
only Indonesia has concluded negotiations for a PCA with
the EU, while Singapore and Thailand are in advance
stages of negotiations. Vietnam, Malaysia and Brunei are
about to begin negotiations.
The EU
has not included Cambodia, Laos and Burma in the
proposed FTA and may negotiate at a latter stage with
the first two countries. It has excluded Burma because
of concerns about the human-rights situation in that
military junta-ruled Asean member.
The
Philippines, on the other hand, had expressed serious
concerns on the proposed PCA because it requires
commitment to sign the Rome Statute. Manila has not
ratified the statute owing to concerns of military and
police authorities they may face possible harassment
suits from rights groups at the ICC, since both are
still trying to put down the communist insurgency and
the Islamic secession rebellion.
Foreign
undersecretary for international economic affairs Edsel
Custodio is currently discussing with senior officials
of the EU in Brussels the Philippine concerns on the
proposed PCA. |
