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About the Working Group

The establishment of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) has helped spur a significant increase in trade and investment flows in the region. However, as tariffs are lowered or removed altogether, many non-tariff barriers that significantly impact business operations still remain. The Council's Customs Working Group is a working group that focuses on the elimination of trade barriers and the promotion of trade facilitation in the ASEAN region through concrete proposals and activities.

The Only US Private Sector Group Invited to the annual ASEAN Customs Directors-General Meeting

The Council regularly meets with the ASEAN Customs Directors-General, the ASEAN Economic Ministers, and other related ministries to discuss trade and investment issues and provide private sector input on how ASEAN can be more attractive to foreign investors. However, the Council recognizes that in order to have more impact, a regular, more informal consultation between ASEAN Customs and the Council need to be established. This will provide both sides an opportunity to discuss major non-trade barriers and customs regulatory issues on a more regular basis and come up with a concrete action plan as to how to address the issues raised. An ongoing consultation will also provide an opportunity to engage and encourage ASEAN governments to consider policies in some of the new areas in trade liberalization such as trade facilitation and supply chain security.

This has prompted the Council to form a Customs Working Group within the Council as a formal mechanism to gather US private sector input. And for the past thirteen years, the Working Group has been invited to meet with the Customs Directors-General during their annual regional meeting.

Mission

The Working Group works to promote understanding and cooperation between US business and ASEAN customs administrations. This is achieved by engaging the various ASEAN Customs Administrations, the ASEAN Secretariat and other related ASEAN Ministries in discussions on customs and trade facilitation related matters.

We seek to position the group as a formal, permanent resource to ASEAN as a whole, as well as to the individual member economies.

Areas of focus include:

• Supply Chain Security
• Harmonization of customs administrative procedures and rules of origin with the goal of attaining one single customs union.
• ASEAN Single Window
• Trade facilitation
• Customs Valuation
• Customs Standards
• Review & appeal, advance rulings.