Minister of Commerce Apiradi Tantraporn said the 23rd AEM Retreat and Related Meetings, scheduled for 8-10 March 2017 in Manila, agreed on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).
The AEM Retreat and Related Meetings proposed that ASEAN urgently develop the guidelines for talks and complete them within this year or before the ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting in November 2017.
Under the RCEP, the taxes levied on more than 5,000 items of products will be eradicated within 15 years.
The AEM Retreat and Related Meetings also considered reviving the ASEAN-EU FTA by proposing that a framework for the agreement be submitted to the next ASEAN ministerial meeting, said the minister.
The ASEAN-EU FTA has been halted since 2009.