ASEAN economic ministers upgrade ATIGA

ASEAN economic ministers adopted revisions to several terms in the Operational Certification Procedures (OCP) in the first Protocol amending the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) during the virtual AEM-35th ASEAN Free Trade Agreement Council Meeting on September 8.

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Speaking at the event, the Vietnamese delegation, led by Deputy Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Quoc Khanh, said with the bloc’s removal of 98.6 percent of tariff lines in ATIGA, the upgrade of ATIGA needs to help firms capitalise on its benefits via cutting compliance costs and increasing trade facilitation measures.

Participating ministers also approved the addition of 107 kinds of farm produce and food into the list of necessities in ASEAN, raising the total to 257, in a bid to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The event also took note of results recorded in regional customs cooperation, especially in building the 2022 ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature, which is expected to be launched in next January./.

VNA