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(单词翻译:双击或拖选)
Jakarta
25 August 2007
Economic ministers from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations and Japan have put the final touches on a free-trade deal, one of the largest in Asia. The ASEAN officials also have agreed on a blueprint1 that would create a seamless regional economy by 2015. Chad Bouchard reports from Jakarta.
ASEAN economic ministers during a photo session after their 10th Economic Ministers Meeting with their three dialogue partners China, Japan and South Korea, 25 Aug 2007 |
In return, ASEAN's wealthier six nations will cut tariffs on 90 percent of Japanese goods. The four smaller, impoverished3 members - Burma, Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam - will make cuts later and more slowly.
Trade ministers gathered in Manila for a three-day meeting say the deal will sharply increase trade between ASEAN and Japan, which already tops 160 billion dollars.
While ASEAN is making progress on trade deals with Japan, China and other countries, it is also making progress in expanding internal trade. On Friday, the ASEAN ministers approved a blueprint for creating a free-trade zone by 2015.
The ASEAN Economic Community, or AEC, hopes to form an integrated group like the European Union, which can stand up to trade giants such as China and India.
University of Adelaide Economics Professor Christopher Findlay says the blueprint may not be enough to lure4 investors5 to the region. He says key components6 such as infrastructure7 and product standards will have to be addressed more rigorously.
"Yeah, so it's okay to make commitments about border change, and it's really important to do that, and the gains from getting that right are huge. But there's strategy in actually implementing8 it. I think what we're discovering is that you need to be thinking about what's happening behind the border as well," said Findlay.
Discussion over trade in the agriculture sector9 has been sidelined due to a stalemate over farm subsidies10 and trade barriers.
Findlay says that since farm products dominate the export market in Southeast Asia, the AEC trade agreement is weakened by their exclusion11.
ASEAN is made up of 10 countries - Brunei, Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam - with a combined gross domestic product of one-point-one trillion dollars.
The group has been hammering out trade deals with six countries, including Japan and China, which are to be finalized12 this year.
The guidelines for the ASEAN Economic Community are expected to be signed during the group's summit in Singapore this November.
1 blueprint | |
n.蓝图,设计图,计划;vt.制成蓝图,计划 | |
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2 tariffs | |
关税制度; 关税( tariff的名词复数 ); 关税表; (旅馆或饭店等的)收费表; 量刑标准 | |
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3 impoverished | |
adj.穷困的,无力的,用尽了的v.使(某人)贫穷( impoverish的过去式和过去分词 );使(某物)贫瘠或恶化 | |
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4 lure | |
n.吸引人的东西,诱惑物;vt.引诱,吸引 | |
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5 investors | |
n.投资者,出资者( investor的名词复数 ) | |
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6 components | |
(机器、设备等的)构成要素,零件,成分; 成分( component的名词复数 ); [物理化学]组分; [数学]分量; (混合物的)组成部分 | |
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7 infrastructure | |
n.下部构造,下部组织,基础结构,基础设施 | |
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8 implementing | |
v.实现( implement的现在分词 );执行;贯彻;使生效 | |
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9 sector | |
n.部门,部分;防御地段,防区;扇形 | |
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10 subsidies | |
n.补贴,津贴,补助金( subsidy的名词复数 ) | |
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11 exclusion | |
n.拒绝,排除,排斥,远足,远途旅行 | |
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12 finalized | |
vt.完成(finalize的过去式与过去分词形式) | |
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