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AN
alliance of civil-society groups in Europe and Southeast
Asia has raised concerns on the proposed free-trade
agreements (FTAs) between the European Union and
individually with member- countries of the Association
of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean), as well as with the
bloc itself, saying jobs and revenues will be lost due
to reduction or removal of tariffs and more restrictions
on exports and investments in the weaker Asean
economies.
Philippine leaders of the Asia-Europe People’s Forum (AEPF)
presented a study on the negative impact of the proposed
EU-Asean FTA to the nine members of the EU Parliament
Friday in
Manila,
where they are on a visit.
Tina
Ebro, Philippine representative to the AEPF, said the
proposed trade pact as published in the paper “Global
Europe: Competing in the World” released late 2006 by
the European Commission highlighted the EU’s high
priority on access to raw materials that “will seriously
undermine Asean countries’ sovereignty over their
natural resources.”
The “EU
requirements that Asean substantially lower its tariffs
will result in a significant loss of revenue to
developing countries which cannot easily raise similar
funds from other taxation sources,” said the group in a
paper analyzing the proposed EU draft for a free-trade
agreement, obtained by the BusinessMirror.
AEPF is
a counterpart dialogue platform of civil-society groups
to the Asia Europe Meeting (Asem) being held every two
years by member-countries of both the EU and Asean
together with China, Japan and South Korea.
One of
the biggest roadblocks to a successful trade agreements
in the World Trade Organization is the EU measures
protective of its farms and corporations. The same
policy is in the EU draft pact where Asean
member-economies would be forced to open their markets
to EU goods and corporate investments but deny them a
similar range of economic protections and subsidies for
Asean’s own industries.
It added
the free-trade deal that has been scheduled to be signed
within two years will also leave weaker economies of
Asean worse off than the current GSP treatment. The EU,
according to the group, would demand extensive
liberalization measures than prescribed in the WTO but
without allowing Asean members adequate safeguards.
The
EU-Asean free trade deal is expected to boost EU exports
to Asean by 24.2 percent and an 18.5-percent increase
for Asean exports to the EU.
The AEPF
paper also showed the business services sector has the
biggest potential gains or a projected 29-percent
increase worth €7.9 billion for EU and an 80-percent
increase for Asean or €14 billion.
“The
liberalization of services at a WTO-plus level, given
the dominance of EU services companies, will tend to
outcompete Asean services partners,” according to the
group paper. |
