The 10 members of ASEAN would benefit more than other Asian countries if free-trade agreements (FTAs) were struck within the region, the group said, citing studies it commissioned.
A free-trade agreement that included the group, Japan, South Korea and China would lift Southeast Asia’s economic growth by 3.6 percent, ASEAN said in a statement released late yesterday, citing a feasibility study. GDP in Japan, South Korea and China would climb 0.9 percent, they said.
A broader trade deal that also included India, Australia and New Zealand would boost ASEAN’s GDP by 3.8 percent, the regional grouping said in a separate statement. Growth in all 16 nations would increase an average 1.3 percent, the statement said.
No details of how the figures were arrived at, or over what period the growth would occur, were provided in the statements. Staff at the press office of an ASEAN economic ministers’ meeting in Bangkok, where the statements were issued, were unable to provide more information.
ASEAN, which comprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, has conducted trade talks with other Asian nations in a bid to reduce reliance on exports to the US and Europe.
The regional grouping this week signed an agreement with India that will remove or reduce tariffs on most of their traded goods. It also signed an investment deal with China yesterday as part of a free-trade agreement that is scheduled to take effect next year.
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