ASEAN trade in goods

Abstract

Trade in goods represents the basic core of economic cooperation in Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Under ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), each ASEAN Member State may impose tariffs on goods entering from outside ASEAN based on its national schedules. ATIGA anticipates that ASEAN Member States may wish to take unilateral actions which may affect their ATIGA obligations. The ASEAN Single Window is an attempt to present a unified interface between importers, exporters and the ASEAN Member States for cross-border trade in goods. Non-tariff measures, including sanitary and phytosanitary measures and technical barriers to trade, represent some of the more difficult areas for the ASEAN Economic Community. ATIGA also eliminates tariff rate quotas and quantitative restrictions but notably does not prevent ASEAN members from imposing trade remedies. The ASEAN Compliance Monitoring Body is a non-legally binding consultative dispute settlement mechanism, modeled after the World Trade Organisation Textiles Monitoring Body.