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Forward-looking ASEAN trade in goods agreement in a changing world
ATIGA’s most significant outcome is the reduction of the intra-ASEAN trade tariff to zero for almost all types of goods.
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Trade ministers of ASEAN member countries pose for photograph signing an agreement on the ASEAN Agreement on E-Commerce in Singapore on Nov. 12, 2021. (Courtesy of/The Singaporean Trade and Industry Ministry)
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gainst the backdrop of the worst global economic crisis since the Great Depression, ASEAN signed the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in 2009, furthering its commitment to an open and integrated regional trade. On March 16, amid the unprecedented COVID-19 pandemic and rising geopolitical crises, ASEAN economic ministers strategically launched negotiations to upgrade ATIGA.
This historical parallel presents an opportunity for ASEAN to strengthen its integration amid new global challenges. But the global economy is not just reeling from another crisis; it is evolving structurally.
This warrants the enhancement of ATIGA as ASEAN’s flagship trade agreement, which will put ASEAN in a stronger economic position to respond to forthcoming global structural shifts brought by circular and technological transitions, as well as yield significant benefits and deepened ASEAN competitiveness and relevance in global trade and investments.
There is a desire to negotiate an upgraded ATIGA that is materially more beneficial and impactful than our existing regional or ASEAN-plus agreements.
ATIGA evolved from ASEAN’s earlier trade agreements. The Common Effective Preferential Tariff Scheme (CEPT), signed in 1992, was the direct predecessor of ATIGA. Following amendments to the CEPT in 1995 and 2003, ASEAN agreed on a new agreement, which became ATIGA.
ATIGA built on the CEPT’s objectives of establishing ASEAN as a single market and production base characterized by the free flow of goods, services, investment, skilled labor and capital. The agreement provided comprehensive trade measures, such as tariff liberalization, rules of origin, non-tariff measures, trade facilitation and customs procedures that helped ease the movement of goods in the region.
ATIGA’s most significant outcome is the reduction of the intra-ASEAN trade tariff to zero for almost all types of goods. To date, more than 98 percent of all tariff lines have zero rates.
