Representatives from the member states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) have met in the Lao capital Vientiane to discuss enhancing regional trade by simplifying trade barriers and implementing trade facilitation measures.
ASEAN has eliminated tariffs on almost all products, comprising 98.6 percent of all tariff items, and is continuing to refine the ASEAN Single Window Tax Notification System, in order to reduce trade costs and facilitate business in the region.
The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) reports that Indonesia has imported 3.05 million tons of rice, worth $1.91 billion, from January to August 2024. This represents a 121.34 percent increase in rice imports compared to the same period last year, contributing 1.5 percent to the country's non-oil and gas imports.
The Investment, Trade and Industry Ministry (MITI) is confident that Malaysia's single window trade initiative, to harmonise with China's customs system, will facilitate business and trade operations by reducing red tape, coordinate and launch Malaysia-China cross border trade processes.
Vietnam Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh on Friday (Sept 13) urged the Asean Business Advisory Council (Asean BAC) to collaborate closely with the governments and citizens of Asean countries on critical initiatives to drive further economic development, according to the Vietnam News Agency.
There is a strengthening chorus of calls for ASEAN to walk the talk in its claims of centrality in managing the challenges to peace and prosperity in Southeast Asia. The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) is an opportunity for the region to collaborate and avoid the increasing securitisation of economic policy. Through RCEP, ASEAN can defend the multilateral trading system amid backsliding open markets and a stagnating World Trade Organization.
Amid the rising economic cooperation between Cambodia and Indonesia, the bilateral trade volume in 2023 has increased by 15 percent while in the first six months of this year, it reached nearly $580 million, making it possible to surpass $1.1 billion by the end of this year.
Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and Indonesian President-elect Prabowo Subianto have expressed confidence that the two countries will soon reach the bilateral trade target of US$18 billion in the time ahead.
<p>Time: 2024 By: Ministry of Industry and Trade</p>
