Tag: ASEAN
Securing market access for agri-food trade in ASEAN has become a challenge. Non-tariff measures (NTMs) have emerged as one of the key obstacles to trade. Given trade costs associated with such measures, ASEAN should focus on harmonising rules and standards surrounding aimed at protecting humans and animals, in order to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade.
The ensuing Sino-US trade war and the Covid-19 pandemic has accelerated the moving of global value chains out of China into other regional states such as Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. ASEAN countries should not squander the historic opportunity to grab a bigger market share in such chains.
Both India and ASEAN are vying for places in shifting global value chains (GVC) affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. India is behind the grouping in GVC participation. One way for New Delhi to play catch-up is to rethink its withdrawal from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership.
The re-emergence of the “neutrality” term in a recent ASEAN statement shows the underlying tensions between a fallback position based on neutrality and autonomy, as opposed to a more forward “principled neutrality” position based on international law.
China appears to have made a momentary adjustment in its response to American criticisms of its actions in the South China Sea. It has adopted a calibrated and reciprocal response, but it has not over-reacted. Beijing could be wary of overplaying its hand and hence strengthening the positions of China hawks in the United States.
The development of ASEAN Single Window in the past 15 years has demonstrated the importance of digitalizing trade procedures to reduce trade costs and boost competitiveness in ASEAN. The enlargement of the ASEAN Single Window to include the grouping’s dialogue partners will reduce trade costs further.
Rising Sino-US rivalry and a rapidly changing geopolitical environment means that smaller states in the Asia-Pacific are increasingly compelled to “choose sides” between the two major powers. They are, however, not short of options.
Australia’s recently-released defence update may be the most consequential document in terms of Canberra’s defence relations with Southeast Asia. Australia is asking its Southeast Asia partners to do more, while offering them more in return.
E-commerce is seen as a panacea for the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but it should be seen as one part of a larger and more complex system, involving other elements such as manufacturing and logistics. An ASEAN initiative to address bottlenecks in such systems should be lauded and supported.
City governments around the world, in particular in Southeast Asia, have been forming multilateral platforms to tackle issues of climate change and income disparity.
Non-tariff Barriers to Agri-trade in ASEAN: Taking Down Walls
Securing market access for agri-food trade in ASEAN has become a challenge. Non-tariff measures (NTMs) have emerged as one of the key obstacles to trade. Given trade costs associated with such measures, ASEAN should focus on harmonising rules and standards surrounding aimed at protecting humans and animals, in order to reduce non-tariff barriers to trade.