Six Southeast Asian countries and China expect to start a free trade area next year and to slash tariffs on all but the most sensitive goods by 2010, a senior negotiator said on Wednesday.
"Everything is on track. The pact is expected to be signed by the leaders at the Asean summit meeting in Vientiane in November," Thailand's Pisanu Rienmahasarn told Reuters, referring to the 10-member Association of South East Asian Nations.
Under the agreement, some 90 percent of 5,000 tariff categories will be cut to below 20 percent on January 2005 and to 0-5 percent by 2010, he said.
The six Asean members are Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia and Brunei. The free trade agreement should come into force for its new, poorer members - Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam - in 2015.
"We are working on how to cut the sensitive list of goods to an appropriate level and I think we could wrap up the deal" before the Asean summit in the Lao capital, Pisanu said.
Negotiators missed the initial deadline of June as the six Asean countries wanted more time to cut tariffs on items they regard as sensitive, ranging from sugar to manufactured goods.
China wanted Asean members to cut the number of such goods to below 400. Most of the Asean countries had 300-400 items on their sensitive list, with the Philippines way ahead with 700. China had 250 items.
"Now the Philippines and China are talking on the sensitive list issue and I think they will come up with good news and most Asean nations believe the deal will be signed in November in Vientiane," Pisanu said.
Senior officials should wrap the deal in late September ready for submission to the summit, he added.
Asean, which has annual trade within the group of $720 billion, agreed with Beijing to start talks on a free trade pact in November 2001.
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