ASEAN Free-Trade Area

Sub-subject: The ASEAN Free-Trade Area (AFTA). Tariff Liberalisation. Syllabus:

1. Introduction to the ASEAN Free-Trade Area (AFTA).
2. Tariff liberalisation.
3. Elimination of Import Duties and Tariff Rate Quotas.
4. The ASEAN Rules of origin.
5. Calculation of Regional Value Content.
6. Non-tariff Measures.
7. Import Licensing Procedures.
8. Trade Facilitation.
9. Single Window of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
10. The ASEAN Customs.
11. Customs Valuation.
12. Standards, technical regulations and conformity assessment procedures.
13. Sanitary and phytosanitary measures.
14. Emergency situation.

Sample of the Sub-subject: ASEAN Free-Trade Area (AFTA):

Sub-Subject Description: Association of Southeast Asian Nations Free-Trade Area AFTA:

The objective of the ASEAN Free-Trade Area is to reach free trade products in the ASEAN region to create a single market and production base for the deeper economic integration of the ASEAN economies towards the achievement of the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015.

The Agreement on the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme for the ASEAN Free-Trade Area needs that tariff rates levied on a huge range of foreign trade of export products within the ASEAN region be reduced to 5%.

Most of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) region is a free-trade area. Accounting for 96% of all international trade of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, the first six signatories of the Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme for the ASEAN Free-Trade Area (AFTA) have reduced their custom tariffs on intra-regional trade to 5% for all export products to the “Inclusion list” or removed them in total.

The member economies of the Association of  Southeast Asian Nations should eliminate import duties on all export products traded between them by 2010 for ASEAN-6 and by 2015, with flexibility to 2018, for CLMV (Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam.).

1. ASEAN-6: Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand.
2. CLMV: Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam.

For ASEAN-6, by 1 January 2009 (Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand)
- Import duties of at least 80% tariff lines are eliminated;
- Import duties on all Information and Communications Technology (ICT) products, as defined in the e-ASEAN Framework Agreement, are removed;
- Import duties on all Priority Integration Sectors products are at 0%
- Import duties on all the goods are equal to or less than 5%;

For Laos, Myanmar, and Vietnam, import duties on all the products are equal to or less than 5% by 2009.

For Cambodia, import duties of at least 80% tariff lines are equal to or less than 5% by 2009.

ASEAN Economic Community - ASEAN's Free Trade Agreements - Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in the ASEAN countries