MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Japan proposes mega trade zone with half the world

Japan proposed Wednesday an ambitious free trade zone that would include 16 Asian countries totalling half the world's population. Toshihiro Nikai, Economy, Industry and Trade minister made the announcement in the framework of the Asian South East Association of Nations meeting in Malaysia.

ASEAN ten Trade ministers offered a cautious support to the suggestion and requested Japan first confirms a free trade agreement with the current ASEAN members (Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Brunei, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and Burma).

Minister Nikai said that he would be asking experts to begin considering the suggestion next year for a pan-Asian free trade zone that would include Australia, China, South Korea, India, New Zealand, Japan and the ten members of ASEAN, a group created 39 years ago. The project would include a 3.1 billion population with a combined GDP of over ten trillion US dollars.

"ASEAN countries showed an interest and we shall discuss details from now until the end of the year", said Nikai.

ASEAN members also called on the World Trade Organization for a resumption of talks to liberalize global trade.

"ASEAN believes that WTO members should put the process back on rails before the end of 2006 and acknowledge the need to advance negotiations in critical sectors such as access to agriculture and non agriculture markets", said the group in an official communiqué released in Kuala Lumpur.

Following the collapse of the meeting last July in Geneva, the 149 members of WTO decided to suspend the Doha Round negotiations to liberalize world trade which were launched in the capital of Qatar in 2001. The current suspension impacts on the efficiency of the multilateral trade system and its capacity to benefit trade liberalization in goods and services, added ASEAN members.

ASEAN Trade ministers also decided to advance to 2015 the timetable for the creation of an economic community in the region.