Facilitating seamless trade in goods is a cornerstone of ASEAN’s regional economic integration. ASEAN’s integration journey began with the establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) in January 1992, which laid the foundation for realising ASEAN as a single market and production base; characterised by the free flow of goods, services, investment, skilled labour, and the freer movement of capital. This aspiration is reaffirmed in the ASEAN Charter and the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025.

In 2009, ASEAN Economic Ministers signed the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) in Thailand to provide a legal framework to enhance free flow of goods in the region. The Agreement inherited core principles of the CEPT Agreement and incorporated, to the extent possible, modern features of the international trade-in-goods matters at that time. ATIGA is designed to further deepen the commitments among ASEAN Member States to contribute to greater free flow of goods in the region. It was envisioned that by 2025, ASEAN will achieve competitive, efficient, and seamless movement of goods within the region as a true ASEAN Economic Community.

On supporting ASEAN Member States in the implementation of the Trade in Goods under ATIGA, the Coordinating Committee on the implementation of the ATIGA (CCA) was established. This supersedes the Coordinating Committee on the Implementation of the CEPT Scheme for AFTA (CCCA) upon the entry-into-force of ATIGA in 2010. The functions of the CCA include:

1. Oversee and monitor the implementation of the ATIGA, particularly in the areas of tariff liberalisation and rules of origin;
2. Coordinate and monitor other activities related to realization of free flow of goods in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC); and
3. Provide recommendations on possible improvements to the ATIGA with a view to ensuring the achievement of its objectives, smooth implementation, as well as to keep pace with the current trends and development in regional and international trade.

To carry out its work, the CCA is supported by two (2) subsidiary bodies, namely:

1. Sub-Committee on ATIGA Rules of Origin (SC-AROO), focuses on monitoring and reviewing the implementation of Rules of Origin; and
2. ASEAN Committee on Sanitary and Phytosanitary (AC-SPS), focused on ensuring effective implementation of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures.

As of 2025, ASEAN is virtually tariff-free, with tariffs on around 98.86% of products fully eliminated under the ATIGA.

In September 2022, the ASEAN started negotiating the ATIGA Upgrade Negotiation to ensure that ASEAN remains relevant, modern, forward-looking, and more responsive to regional and global developments and able to contribute to increasing the efficient utilisation of ATIGA for businesses to benefit from regional integration. The upgrade negotiations were concluded in May 2025 and the 2^nd Protocol to Amend the ATIGA was signed at the sidelines of the 47^th ASEAN Summit in October 2025. The 2^nd Protocol to Amend the ATIGA will enter into force once all AMS have ratified the agreement.