Asean Iron and Steel Associations Seek Review of FTA with China
01/21/2013 - In an unprecedented move, six regional iron and steel associations have joined forces seeking for a review in the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following the dramatic influx of steel products from China into Asean especially over the past three years, said Asean Iron and Steel Council (AISC) president Chow Chong Long, the Malaysian newspaper The Star reports.
In an unprecedented move, six regional iron and steel associations have joined forces seeking for a review in the Asean-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA) following the dramatic influx of steel products from China into Asean especially over the past three years, said Asean Iron and Steel Council (AISC) president Chow Chong Long, the Malaysian newspaper The Star reports.
The six regional associations — the Malaysia Iron and Steel Industry Federation (Misif), the Indonesian Iron and Steel Industry Association, the Philippines Iron and Steel Institute, the Singapore Iron and Steel Group, the Iron and Steel Institute of Thailand and the Vietnam Steel Association — which are members of AISC, have jointly submitted their proposal to the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta last month to take up the matter with China.
At the same time, each of the iron and steel association presidents will bring up his concerns and issues to his respective governments and some were in the midst of taking more trade actions against China steel products.
Since the implementation of the Asean-China FTA in January 2010, Chow pointed out, export of steel products from China to Asean had surged significantly and “such imports to a great extent are competing directly with similar steel products produced in the region…”
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