Monday August 21, 2006
New Zealand: 16-nation East Asia trade bloc deal will take time to complete
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AP): Plans to create a 16 nation Asia-Pacific trading bloc have potential but it likely will take some time to hammer out agreement and implement, New Zealand Trade Minister Phil Goff said Monday.
New Zealand and Australia support Japan's proposal for a 16 nation free-trade grouping of China, South Korea, India and the 10-nation ASEAN grouping _ covering half the world's population.
The 16 nations last year formed the East Asia Summit, a precursor for the proposed free-trade community.
"We don't think that's going to happen any time soon _ if we were to achieve that that would be the world's largest free trade grouping,'' Goff said.
"It's very interesting with huge potential but still some way off before that might be realized as an objective,'' he told domestic news agency, New Zealand Press Association.
Goff travels to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, Tuesday to meet Cabinet ministers from ASEAN, or the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.
"It's important that New Zealand is ... seen to be interested and ... furthering our contacts and our relationship with the most dynamic economic area of the world and one that has huge potential for our country,'' he said.
The proposed trading bloc would include New Zealand's first, third, fourth and fifth largest trading partners _ Australia, Japan, China and Korea _ as well as other top 10 states such as Malaysia and Hong Kong.
While in Malaysia Goff and Australian counterpart Mark Vaile will have talks on ASEAN-Australia/New Zealand free trade negotiations.
While they have been "progressing reasonably, it's not an easy free trade agreement to do because it involves 10 states on one side _ which vary from a highly developed state like Singapore to a least developed country like Laos _ and the two countries on our side,'' Goff said.
He hoped talks would be completed some time next year, with parties seeking "a better quality agreement than ... try to rush it through,'' he said.
In Malaysia Goff said he may be able to discuss progress on a New Zealand/Malaysia trade deal with Malaysian Trade Minister Rafidah Aziz.
"The talks between New Zealand and Malaysia are 80 percent complete but there are some sticking points in particular on services that are standing in the way'' of a deal, he said.
"I may have some chances to talk to Minister Rafidah about that but, because she is chairing the meetings, she will have a very full agenda,'' he said.
ASEAN includes Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia, Brunei, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia.
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