ASEAN-EU FTA TALKS ENTER SPECIFIC AREAS, SAYS MUSTAPA

By Ahmad Fuad Yahya
JAKARTA, May 5 (Bernama) -- Asean-EU bilateral free trade talks (FTA) will
enter specific discussions phase related to goods and services stated in the
agreement, says International Trade and Industry Minister Mustapa Mohamed.

He said the negotiations, to start in Brussels next week, would centre
around proposed tariff and non-tariff reduction to zero tariff on 90 per cent
of goods besides commodities like palm oil, intellectual properties and
government procurements.

Mustapa, who expressed happiness on the progress of the trade talks thus
far, was confident that the free trade agreement would be signed as scheduled by
the middle of next year.

Prime Minister Najib Razak after attending the Asia-Europe Meeting (ASEM) in
Brussels on October last year announced that the FTA would be finalised in 18
months by June next year.

"We've about another year to go to end the talks. Currently, our negotiators
are engaged in detailed discussions.

"So far, we have held two rounds of talks and this year, we plan to meet
twice. Next week, our 31-member negotiating team will go to Brussels to
negotiate with their EU counterparts in several working groups.

"In July, another round of talks will be held in Kuala Lumpur," he told
Malaysian journalists after meeting EU trade commissioner Karel De Gucht on the
sidelines of the Asean-EU Trade Summit here Thursday.

In the two rounds of talks held previously, both sides focused their
discussions on understanding trade policies such as on government procurements,
intellectual properties and services, he added.