ASEAN-UNITED STATES

There has been a remarkable growth of ASEAN-US trade which has more than doubled over the last decade. This development was noted at the 11th ASEAN-US Dialogue of 15-16 May 1993. The joint Trade and Investment Cooperation Committee (TICC) had been very useful in addressing trade and investment concerns of the two sides. ASEAN explained that with AFTA, there is a greater move to liberalize and expand intra-ASEAN trade and investment. The US indicated its support for ASEAN efforts toward economic liberalization and reiterated that it welcomes ASEAN's decision to create AFTA.

The ASEAN private sector has noted that cooperation between the public and private sectors played a vital role in improving trade and investment relations between ASEAN and the US. Moreover, the Dialogue was considered as the key forum to ensure continuity of a good relationship. The ASEAN private sector raised a number of issues for consideration by both ASEAN and the US Government which focused primarily on near-term issues such as the early successful conclusion of the Uruguay Round, Section 301, trade-related environmental issues, voluntary restraints agreements, tariffs and non- tariff barriers, investment expansion and trade promotion. The US was urged to refrain from taking unilateral trade actions with special reference to Section 301 against ASEAN Member Countries.

On the other hand, the US private sector wanted to focus on the longer-term perspective of ASEAN-US trade and investment relations. It proposed that ASEAN and the US Government work towards close cooperation which would take the form of an ASEAN-US Free Trade Arrangement, bilateral double taxation treaties and bilateral investment agreements with ASEAN Member Countries. ASEAN and the US agreed on the need for a follow-up mechanism, such as the Economic Coordinating Committee, to monitor the progress of the private sector proposals.

The year under review saw significant progress made on the on-going development projects especially on the Private Investment Trade and Opportunities (PITO). The Environmental Improvement Programme (EIP) has been approved a[id is scheduled to be implemented soon. On development cooperation, it was felt that there is a need to rationalise all projects in view of the current circumstances and that, future programmes be closely examined. In particular, ASEAN would like to see enhanced programmes which would encourage people-to- people contact as it was felt that more benefits would accrue from increased understanding of each other.

At the 11th ASEAN-US Dialogue, the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) informed ASEAN that the US would like to concentrate its assistance programmes for 1992-1997 on three areas of cooperation, namely: (1) expansion of intra-ASEAN and ASEAN-US trade and investment; (2) management and technical skills upgrading; and (3) transfer of US technology to improve the economic and efficient use of ASEAN national resources by domestic industries. Consistent with these priority themes, the PITO project and the EIP will remain to be the main vehicles of US assistance to ASEAN through 1997.

For the first time, the ASEAN-US Dialoague included in its agenda international and regional political and security issues. These issues of mutual concern included Cambodia, the Middle East, Bosnia-Herzegovina, the South China Sea and Indo-Chinese refugees. On the Spratly issue, ASEAN and the US welcomed the confidence-building measures introduced to manage the possibility of conflict in the South China Sea including a series of workshops convened for this purpose. The US reaffirmed its support for the ASEAN Declaration on the South China Sea which called for a peaceful settlement of disputes. The US reiterated its policy not to take any position on the validity of the competing claims and would support the process of peaceful settlement.