As tariffs on intra-ASEAN trade are reduced under the CEPT Scheme for AFTA, attention is shifting towards the elimination of non-tariff barriers. The CEPT Agreement its elf calls for elimination of NTBs within a period of five years after the enjoyment of concessions applicable to CEPT products.
The Fourth AFTA Council requested Member Countries to submit information on measures that may constitute barriers to trade. Based on this information, customs surcharges and technical measures were initially identified as major NTBs affecting intra-ASEAN trade. A customs surcharge, also called surtax or additional duty, is an ad hoc trade policy instrument to raise fiscal revenue or to protect domestic industry. Technical measures are those measures referring to product characteristics such as quality, safety or dimensions, including the applicable administrative provisions, terminology, symbols, testing, and test methods, packaging, marking and labeling requirements as they apply to a product.
Decisions Concerning Customs Surcharges and Technical Measures
Although the CEPT Agreement calls for elimination of NTBs within five years after enjoyment of concessions, the Eighth AFTA Council decided that Member Countries should aim to eliminate NTBs earlier than currently allowed for and no later than the year 2003.
As a result, ASEAN has agreed to phase out all customs surcharges affecting identified CEPT products by the end of 1996. In the case of technical standards, ASEAN agreed to prioritize the sectors which figure widely in intra-regional trade, such as electrical appliances and machinery, base metals, plastics, and chemicals. A short-list of these products have been targeted for harmonization of standards by the end of 1996.
Similarly, the working groups under the Senior Officials Meeting of the ASEAN Ministers of Agriculture and Forestry (SOM-AMAF) have succeeded in identifying priority crop and livestock products harmonization of Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) measures by 1997. ASEAN has also finalized ASEAN standards for 28 types of animal vaccines. Standards for more animal vaccines is being reviewed.
Role of the Private Sector
The private sector is an important source of information on barriers to trade. Hence the Ninth AFTA Council that met in Singapore in April 1996 agreed that AFTA Units can establish regular dialogues with the private sector to facilitate identification of NTBs. Consequently, the Council requested the ASEAN-Chamber of Commerce and Industry to use their industry clubs and associations to gather information on NTBs in the priority sectors and transmit this to the ASEAN Secretariat.
