ABSTRACT
In November 2002 China and ASEAN signed a framework agreement – the ASEAN-China Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement – to establish a free trade area (ACFTA). Most products would carry zero tariffs for Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand by 2010, and by 2015 for the newer ASEAN members (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam). In 2004 China and ASEAN signed the Trade in Goods of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Co-operation and a Dispute Settlement Mechanism. Accordingly, tariffs were cut for approximately 7,000 categories of industrial goods beginning in July 2005. An “early harvest” provision enabled an early tariff reduction in particular products, providing ASEAN states with early access to China’s market as well as lower tariffs for Chinese agricultural items including meat, fish, fruits, vegetables, and milk. The “early harvest” program required separate bilateral agreements between ASEAN members and China.
