MALAYSIA TO IMPLEMENT THREE ASEAN REGIONAL FTAs FROM FRIDAY

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 31 (Bernama) -- Malaysia will implement three Asean
regional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) effective Friday.

They are the full implementation of Asean FTA (AFTA), Asean-Australia-New
Zealand FTA (AANZFTA) and Asean-India FTA in Goods.

The Ministry of International Trade and Industry (Miti) said the
legislations allowing the implementation of the regional FTAs had been passed.

"Generally, the implementation of the FTAs will involve regional trade
liberalisation in goods involving all Asean member countries for AFTA; the Asean
market with Australia and New Zealand; and the Asean market with India," it said
in a statement Thursday.

The implementation of the three regional FTAs will hopefully further
strengthen trade among Asean countries, and with partners from Australia, New
Zealand and India.

It will also directly provide opportunities for the Malaysian business
community to expand business as well as market their products and services to
those countries.

For Asean and India, the FTA would open the market of 1.7 billion
population, Miti said.

"In this regard, the Malaysian business community is encouraged to seize
each benefit and facility provided, including the abolition and reduction of
tariffs on goods, the opening of market for services and the relaxation of
investment conditions as well as measures for the implementation of trade and
economic collaborations," it said.

AFTA, a progressive intra-Asean trade liberalisation in goods beginning Jan
1, 1993, will be fully implemented from Jan 1, 2010.

Malaysia, Brunei, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore dan Thailand will
abolish tariffs on all goods except a small number of sensitive agricultural
goods at five per cent.

Malaysia has made a commitment to abolish duties on 1,943 tariff lines.

With this developments, import duties for intra-Asean trade are no longer an
obstacle to trade.

The AANZFTA implementation sets up a free trade area, opens the market for
goods and services, and relaxes several conditions for investment and economic
cooperation between Asean member countries, Australia and New Zealand.

The agreement is the first comprehensive regional FTA for Asean.

For the goods sector, the offer involves a full tariff abolition
progressively by Australia and New Zealand in three to 10 years.

By 2020, all exports in goods by Malaysian exporters to Australia and New
Zealand will not be subjected to any import duties.

The offer by Australia and New Zealand involves 6,124 and 7,328 tariff lines
respectively.

Malaysia, meanwhile, offers the abolition and reduction of tariff on 99 per
cent or 10,502 of its tariff lines.

The start of the implementation of ASEAN-India FTA in Goods covers the
abolition and reduction of tariff on products offered by Asean member countries
and India.

Under the FTA, import duties on goods will be abolished progressively in
three to eight years from Jan 1, 2010.

The offer by Malaysia and India involves the abolition and reduction of
import duties progressively on more than 10,000 tariff lines.
-- BERNAMA