Kuala Lumpur, August 17 :

Six countries in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) will abolish tariffs on most electronic products traded between them by next January, three years ahead of schedule, in a bid to claw back foreign investment from China and India, officials said.

Ramon Vicente Kabigting, a director at the Philippines’ department of trade and industry said the six countries to accelerate the program were Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. “Because it is a priority sector, 85 per cent of the products will have zero tariff next year,” he said. “Eighty-five per cent of the products will cross borders freely. This will lower costs and make products competitive.”

An ASEAN official confirmed the move. “Duties covered under the priority sector integration will be eliminated by January 2007,” he said.

ASEAN economic officials are meeting here ahead of next week’s ministerial talks to chart the region’s ambitious goal of advancing economic integration by five years to 2015.

The senior officials are preparing to brief the ministers on the status of preparations to abolish the tariffs.