WTO Trade Facilitation Symposium 8 9 Nov 2011

WTO Trade Facilitation Symposium 8 -9 Nov 2011 Customs-Related Trade Facilitation in ASEAN Lee Tiow Yong Chair, ASEAN Customs Procedures & Trade Facilitation Working Group

Outline I. III. IV. V. Overview of ASEAN Economic Community Comparison of WTO TF Agreement and ASEAN TF Measures Updates on Key ASEAN Customs-related TF Initiatives Conclusion 2

Growth in ASEAN Trade Sources: ASEAN Finance and Macroeconomic Surveillance Database and IMF-World Economic Outlook April 2010, ASEAN Trade Statistics Database as of September 2010 3

Basic Data of ASEAN Member States Country Brunei Darussalam Land area (sq km) Population (thousand) GDP per capita (US$) Total Trade (PPP$) (US$ million) 5, 765 406 26, 486 49, 411 9, 568 Cambodia 181, 035 14, 958 693 1, 801 8, 887 Indonesia 1, 860, 360 231, 370 2, 364 4, 180 213, 339 Lao PDR 236, 800 6, 128 910 2, 350 2, 962 Malaysia 330, 252 28, 307 6, 822 13, 594 280, 221 Myanmar 676, 577 59, 534 419 1, 093 10, 191 Philippines 300, 000 92, 227 1, 750 3, 525 83, 869 710 4, 988 36, 631 49, 766 515, 617 Thailand 513, 120 66, 903 3, 951 8, 072 286, 267 Viet Nam 331, 051 86, 025 1, 120 3, 111 125, 922 4, 435, 670 590, 844 2, 533 4, 840 1, 536, 843 Singapore ASEAN Diversity does not stop ASEAN from pursuing trade facilitation 4

Becoming Easier to Trade Rankings for Trading Across Borders Country § 2010 2012 48 35 Cambodia 127 120 Indonesia 45 39 Malaysia 35 29 Philippines 68 51 Viet Nam 74 68 Lao PDR 168 Singapore 1 1 Thailand 12 17 - - Brunei Darussalam Myanmar § Improvement in rankings for “Trading Across Borders” in World Bank Doing Business 2012 report Out of the 9 countries surveyed, 6 have improved in their rankings Source: Doing Business 2012: Doing Business in a More Transparent World, The World Bank, , published on Oct 20, 2011 5

ASEAN Economic Community § § The Declaration of ASEAN Concord II (signed by ASEAN Leaders in Bali, Indonesia, 7 Oct 03) mandated the establishment of an ASEAN Community with 3 pillars: the ASEAN Security Community, the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community The end goal of the AEC is to create a stable, prosperous and highly competitive ASEAN economic region in which there is a free flow of goods, services, investment, skilled labour and a freer flow of capital, equitable economic development and reduced poverty and socioeconomic disparities by 2015 (original date was 2020; subsequently brought forward to 2015) Declaration on the AEC Blueprint was signed by ASEAN Leaders in Singapore on 20 Nov 07 AEC is not a customs union 6

ASEAN Economic Community § The AEC Blueprint outlines economic integration measures to be implemented by ASEAN Member States § The AEC has 4 key characteristics: (i) single market & production base; § § (ii) a highly competitive economic region; (iii) a region of equitable economic development; and (iv) a region fully integrated into the global economy Strategic Schedule details the implementation timelines for the measures To monitor compliance, an AEC Scorecard has been developed; detailing timelines, implementation bodies (the ASEAN sectoral committees) and tracking implementation status (at ASEAN-level and national-level) 7

AEC Blueprint Single market and production base 5 core elements § Free flow of goods § Free flow of services § Free flow of investment § Freer flow of capital § Free flow of skilled labour Key Components o Elimination of Tariffs o Elimination of Non-Tariff Barriers o Rules of Origin o Trade facilitation o Customs Integration o ASEAN Single Window o Standards and Technical Barriers to Trade In addition, the single market and production base also include two important components, i. e. the priority integration sectors, and food, agriculture and forestry. 8

Comparison of WTO TF Agreement and ASEAN TF Measures WTO TF Agreement ASEAN TF Measures Article 1: Publication And Availability of Information • Articles 12 (Publication and Administration of Trade Regulations), 65 (Transparency) and 66 (Enquiry Points) of ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) • Article 48 (Availability of Information) of ASEAN Agreement on Customs (AAC) (to be signed) Article 3: Advance Rulings • Article 62 (Advance Rulings) of ATIGA • Article 34 (Advance Rulings) of AAC Article 4: Appeal/Review Procedures • Article 69 (Review and Appeal) of ATIGA • Article 52 (Right of Review and Appeal) of AAC Article 6: Disciplines on Fees And • Article 7 (Fees and Charges Connected with Charges Importation and Exportation) of ATIGA Article 7. 1: Pre-arrival Processing • Article 55 (Pre-arrival Documentation) of ATIGA • Article 10 (Lodging and Registering of the Goods Declaration) of AAC Article 7. 2: Separation of Release from Final Determination and Payment of Customs Duties, Taxes, Fees and Charges • Articles 16 (Release of Goods) and 23 (Customs Duties and Taxes) of AAC 9

Comparison of WTO TF Agreement and ASEAN TF Measures WTO TF Agreement ASEAN TF Measures Article 7. 3: Risk Management • Article 56 (Risk Management) of ATIGA • Article 27 (Risk Management) of AAC Article 7. 4: Post-clearance Audit • Article 61 (Post Clearance Audit) of ATIGA • Article 28 (Post Clearance Audit) of AAC Article 7. 6: Authorized Operators • Article 59(Authorised Economic Operators) of ATIGA • Article 35 (Authorised Economic Operators) of AAC Article 7. 7: Expedited Shipments • Article 36 (Express Consignments) of AAC Article 9: Border Agency Cooperation • Articles 46 (Partnership with Other Governmental Agencies for Coordinated Border Management) and 47 (Joint and Coordinated Border Control) of AAC Articles 10. 1/10. 2: Review, Reduction of Formalities and Documentation Requirements • Article 54 (Customs Procedures and Control) of ATIGA • Article 6 (Customs Procedures) of AAC 10

Comparison of WTO TF Agreement and ASEAN TF Measures WTO TF Agreement ASEAN TF Measures Article 10. 3: Use of International Standards • Articles 9 (Goods Declaration) and 38 (Data and Information Parameters) of AAC Article 10. 4: Single Window • Agreement to Establish and Implement the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) • Protocol to Establish and Implement the ASW • Memorandum of Understanding on the Implementation of the ASW Pilot Project Article 10. 10: Temporary Admission of Goods/Inward and Outward Processing • Article 32 (Temporary Admission of Goods) of AAC Article 11: Freedom of Transit • ASEAN Framework Agreement on the Facilitation of Goods in Transit Article 12: Customs Cooperation • Article 85 (Co-operation) of ATIGA • Articles 43 (Areas of Cooperation) and 44 (Mechanisms for Cooperation) of AAC Article 14: National Committee on Trade Facilitation • Article 50 (Implementation Arrangement) of ATIGA 11

Structures for Customs Cooperation ASEAN Finance Ministers Meeting ASEAN Economic Ministers Meeting ASEAN Directors-General of Customs Senior Economic Officials Meeting Coordinating Committee On Customs Procedures & Trade Facilitation Working Group Customs Enforcement & Compliance Working Group Customs Capacity Building Working Group ASW Steering Committee ASW Technical Working Group ASW Legal Working Group 12

Strategic Plan of Customs Development (SPCD) under the Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation Working Group § § § § SPCD 1 SPCD 2 SPCD 3 SPCD 4 SPCD 5 SPCD 6 SPCD 7 SPCD 8 Tariff Classification Customs Valuation Origin Determination ASEAN e-Customs & ICT Customs Applications Customs Clearance Customs Transit Partnership with Businesses and the Trading Community Authorised Economic Operator Programme 13

Examples of ASEAN TF Measures § ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature § ASEAN Customs Transit System § ASEAN Self-Certification § ASEAN Single Window 14

ASEAN Harmonized Tariff Nomenclature Implementation of the AHTN 2007 § Implemented by all Member States § Number of tariff lines reduced from 10, 689 to 8, 300 CEPT and MFN lines included in the AHTN 2007 Supplementary Explanatory Notes to the AHTN also strengthened § § Review of the AHTN 2007 § AHTN Task Force Meetings convened to review AHTN 2007 § § Develop AHTN 2012 (in line with WCO HS 2012 amendments) Agreed to use AHTN for intra-ASEAN and extra-ASEAN trade 15

ASEAN Customs Transit System Based on 5 key elements: 1. Fully computerised: electronic messages used for (i) communications between traders and Customs for the lodgement of transit declarations and the discharge of completed transit movements; and (ii) the exchange of transit movement data between customs authorities 2. System open to all "suitable" traders irrespective of their type of business based on an assessment by the Competent Authorities according to minimum agreed criteria based on international best practice 3. Risk profiling scheme: To allow reliable traders "simplifications” or exemptions from a range of standard requirements 4. One guarantee valid in all countries to cover the goods throughout the entire journey 5. Single regional customs document for transit 16

ASEAN Self-Certification of Origin § 23 rd AFTA Council in Aug 2009 endorsed the work plan towards the operationalisation of self-certification in ASEAN § Exporters able to self-certify that the goods meet the rules of origin criteria and enjoy the preferential treatment § Promote utilisation of the ASEAN rules of origin and facilitate trade by reducing the upfront administrative burden of applying for the conventional certificate of origin Form D § MOU to implement pilot project signed by participating AEM in August 2010 (Brunei, Malaysia and Singapore) § Pilot project commenced 1 Nov 2010 17

ASEAN Single Window n Definition of ASW under the ASW Agreement § n n “the environment where National Single Windows (NSW) of Member Countries operate and integrate” ASW Agreement – Timeline for Implementation of NSW § ASEAN-6 by 2008 § ASEAN-4 by 2012 Implementation status of NSW: § ASEAN-6 in varying phases of implementation: basic system in place, expand to more ports, increase no. of government agencies connected to NSW, add new functionalities, etc § ASEAN-4 (CLMV) in the preparatory stages of NSW development: steering committees formed 18

ASEAN Single Window n ASW Pilot Project § Component 1: Study the establishment of the most feasible network architecture; does not involve a central server § Component 2: Set up the network infrastructure to implement the Pilot Project § Component 3: Evaluation of outcomes of the Pilot Project and formulate recommendations for the eventual ASW § 7 AMS as participants, 3 AMS as observers § Use of test data for exchanging ASEAN Customs Declaration Document Certificate of Origin Form D n Development of legal framework agreement for ASW n Alignment of ASEAN Data Model to WCO Data Model 19

Examples of Technical Assistance from Dialogue Partners TA Provider: Areas: ASEAN- EU Programme for Regional Integration Support Programme (APRIS) • ASEAN Customs Transit System • ASEAN Enhanced Air Cargo Processing Model • Self-certification of origin • Training Needs Analysis • Implementation of ASEAN Customs Declaration Document • Development of Risk Management Framework USAID • ASW Pilot Project • Review of AHTN 2007 for the establishment of AHTN 2012 ASEAN-China Cooperation Fund (ACCF) • Training course on Risk Management for CLMV • Training course on Customs Reform and Modernization for CLMV Japan-ASEAN Integration Fund (JAIF) • Regional survey of customs procedures and customs Clearance • Capacity building to strengthen implementation of the preferential ROOs Australia • ASEAN Cargo Processing Model Korea • Various capacity building workshops for customs officials 20

Conclusion § Strong commitments and clear mandates from Leaders § Striking a balance between “flexibilities in implementation” and achieving uniformity § Role of technical assistance § Need to progress from capacity building to actual implementation – proper follow through from regional commitments to national level implementation § Take into account different state of readiness of AMS – pilot project approach, differentiated timeline, etc § Need strong institutional capacity (ASEAN Secretariat) to support implementation of TF measures 21

Thank You 22