ISDS Case Map
ASEAN
President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. recently announced the Philippines' signing of the second protocol to the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement during the ASEAN-Australia Special Summit. This agreement aims to facilitate trade and investment opportunities for businesses, including micro, small, and medium enterprises, by reducing trade barriers and enhancing market access.
The third meeting of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement (AITIGA) was held in New Delhi, with delegates from ASEAN countries participating. The meeting outlined focus areas for further negotiations, updated the work programme for the review and provided guidance to the sub-committees.
The Global Trade Research Initiative (GTRI) said India has not given tariff or duty reductions for cars in its free trade agreements with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations), Japan, and Korea.
The review will focus on the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, which has been in place for over a decade, and will likely include more goods and services under non-tariff barriers.
The European Union recently said that reviving the regional trade pact with ASEAN remained a “long-term objective” as the group tried to finish similar negotiations with the individual members of the Southeast Asian bloc.
This will enable Hong Kong businesses to more easily and effectively gain Hong Kong-originating status for more of their products, providing them with preferential tariff treatment when expanding into the growing Asean market.
Thailand and China plan to resume bilateral free trade agreement negotiations this year despite Thailand’s mounting trade deficit with China of nearly US$30 billion.
Malaysia and Indonesia want to bring other Southeast Asian countries on their side amid ongoing disputes with the European Union over environmental and deforestation regulations that are set to take effect in late 2024, with the two nations worried about the regulations' impact on the region's agriculture exports.
The ROO revision would be in line with the provisions in the trade agreements that are currently being negotiated, where extent of value addition in a product originating from the exporting country is different for each chapter or product.
Malaysia is currently negotiating two new free trade agreements: the Malaysia-EFTA Economic Partnership Agreement and the Asean-Canada Free Trade Agreement.
