[asia-apec 1610] Asean rejects free trade zone with Australia, New Zealand

[APEC Monitoring Group]

Saturday, October 7, 2000
Business Australia 

Asean rejects free trade zone with Australia, New Zealand 

CHIANG MAI: The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) yesterday rejected a proposal for establishing a US$1 trillion free trade zone with Australia and New Zealand. 
The Asean economic ministers instead agreed on a weaker proposal for a "closer economic partnership,'' a joint press statement said. 

"We can't be over-ambitious. It's not an easy thing to merge the two regions together,'' Thai Deputy Prime Minister Supachai Panitchpakdi said. 

The statement said the economic partnership between the two regions would be defined further by officials who would make proposals next year. 

The ministers met with their counterparts from the Closer Economic Relations pact from Australia and New Zealand to discuss a report by a joint task force that recommended setting up a tariff-free zone "at the earliest possible time.'' 

The report said such a free trade area was "not only feasible but advisable'' as it would create a market of 560 million people and bring a benefit of US$48bil in extra gross domestic product by 2020.--AP