During the recently concluded 30th Asean Summit, leaders from the member-nations of the Asean stressed the need to promote transparency of nontariff measures (NTMs) and to resolve technical barriers to trade that have served as obstacles to expanding intra-Asean trade.
The pace-setting Asean economies are facing the challenge of aligning their policies for more inclusive growth and consumer protection as they pursue liberalized trade in an integrated region, while rapid global technological changes usher in the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Vietnamese food exporters have been urged to improve production so that products can meet new regulations set by importing countries, experts have said.
THE PHILIPPINES is calling for closer trade ties with Vietnam to widen the two countries’ domestic and export markets while making the most of the advantages offered by their separate trade agreements with other territories.
The three-year-old free trade agreement with Vietnam will allow South Korean companies to further increase their auto, steel and petrochemical exports on tax removal or cuts, customs experts said Thursday.
The Indonesian government is currently studying the opportunities and challenges with regard to the making of a new bilateral trade deal with the USA. These efforts are a side-effect of US Vice President Mike Pence’s recent visit to Indonesia when he signed 11 trade and investment deals worth a combined USD $10 billion.
Southeast Asian countries will prioritize creating an Asia-focused trade pact this year that includes China, India and Japan, while trade issues with the United States will be put on the back burner, the Philippine trade minister said.
The government announced Tuesday that it has appointed a deputy foreign minister as chief negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact, with an eye to bringing the deal into force without the United States.
<p>Time: November 2025<br /> By: WTO and International Trade Group, Legal Department – VCCI</p>
