Illustrative image (Photo: AFP/VNA) Vientiane (VNA) – Laos has recently removed import tariffs on automobiles, part of its measures to lift trade barriers before the ASEAN Economic Community is formed later this year.
Laos began to reduce duties on imported goods from 2008, Deputy Director General of the Lao Foreign Trade Policy Department Saysana Sayankone said, noting that a number of them, including those on automobiles, have been cut down to zero percent.
He said like many other countries, Laos considers import tariffs as a trade barrier to protect domestically produced goods. Import taxes are also a major source of income for Laos as they account for 11 percent of the country’s budget revenue.
However, the country has levied consumption taxes and revenue from them is enough to replace auto import duties.
Although automobile prices are forecast to decline the near future, they will still be higher than those in many other nations due to high demand and few competitiveness in the market, he noted.-VNA
