Asean steel sector seeks review of FTA with China

CONCERNED about the surge of steel products from China flowing into Asean, the region's iron and steel associations are calling for a review of the free trade agreement (FTA) between the economic powerhouse and the regional grouping.

A joint proposal was submitted to the Asean Secretariat in Jakarta last month for the issue to be taken up with China, The Star newspaper reported yesterday, quoting Asean Iron and Steel Council (AISC) president Chow Chong Long.

AISC members – the Malaysia Iron and Steel Industry Federation, 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 – want terms of the bilateral agreement to be reassessed. The associations will also take up the issue with their respective governments.

The volume of Chinese steel products into Asean has been rapidly expanding since the Asean-China FTA came into force in January 2010, surging by 47 per cent in the first nine months of last year over the same period 2011.