ASEAN economic ministers upgrade ATIGA
Hanoi (VNA) – 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.
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./.