Trade deal inked

The Association of South-East Asian Nations (asean) recently signed a trade agreement with the us, which experts say will lead to more trade and investment alliances between the two regions . The agreement was signed between the us trade representative Susan Schwab and ministers of the 10 asean countries (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam) at a recent meeting in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

The Trade and Investment Framework Agreement will initially focus on three projects: one, creating a common system for the entry of goods; two, a framework for sanitary issues relating to agricultural goods; and, three, developing standards for pharmaceutical registration and approval to speed up the delivery system of new medicines to asean patients.