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ASEAN Free Trade Area council meeting held in Vientiane

17 Sep '24

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ASEAN Free Trade Area council meeting held in Vientiane

Pic: ASEAN

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The 38th ASEAN Free Trade Area council meeting held yesterday in Vientiane focused on expanding and improving intra-bloc trade connectivity; reducing trade barriers; and reviewing and approving reports from the ASEAN Economic Community and other committees.
By 2025, ASEAN is expected to achieve competitive, efficient and seamless intra-bloc movement of goods.

The 38th Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area (AFTA) council meeting held yesterday in Vientiane focused on expanding and improving intra-bloc trade connectivity; reducing trade barriers; and reviewing and approving reports from the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and other trade committees.

The meeting, chaired by minister of industry and commerce of Laos Malaythong Khommasith, was attended by ASEAN secretary general Kao Kim Hourn and trade ministers from the bloc’s member states, according to media reports from Laos.

Since the signing of AFTA in 1992, nearly 98.6 per cent of tariff lines have been zeroed out. This progress has significantly boosted intra-ASEAN trade, with 2023 figures showing trade within the region valued at $759 billion, representing 21.5 per cent of ASEAN’s total trade.

In 2010, ASEAN economic ministers agreed to sign the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in Thailand to offer a legal framework to realise free flow of goods in the region.

By 2025, ASEAN is expected to achieve competitive, efficient and seamless movement of goods within the region. Talks are under way to upgrade the ATIGA.

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