The ASEAN Economic Ministers-Ministry of Commerce Consultation (AEM-MOFCOM Consultation)

• The 22nd AEM-MOFCOM Consultations on 21 August 2023, in Semarang, Republic of Indonesia. Thailand, as the country coordinator of the ACFTA, reported important progress, such as the progress on the exchange of tariff reduction schedules of member countries that were updated to the current version and followed up on the implementation issues. The Meeting assigned the relevant working groups on agriculture and industry to carry out discussions to quickly resolve the related issues.

The Meeting of the Special ASEAN-China FTA Joint Committee: ACFTA-JC) 

• The 1st ACFTA-JC Meeting on 30 May 2022. The meeting discussed the development of the Joint Feasibility Study Report to Further Enhance the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area.

• The 2nd ACFTA-JC Meeting and the 15th Meeting of the Joint Committee on the Implementation of the ASEAN-China FTA Agreement between 4-5 July 2022. The meeting discussed the development of the Joint Feasibility Study Report to Further Enhance the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area and reported on the progress of implementing the obligations under the ACFTA. The meeting also discussed the draft of the Mechanism for Tracking and Monitoring Implementation Issues under the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement to allow member countries to make the most of the free trade agreement between ASEAN and China with maximum efficiency and effectiveness.

• The 3rd Special ACFTA-JC Meeting on 7 February 2023. The Meeting reached a conclusion on the negotiation work plan, meeting procedures, and the structure of the articles that will appear in the agreement. The Meeting also aimed to conclude the negotiations for the upgrading of the ACFTA agreement within 2024. Furthermore, the Meeting agreed to establish several sub-working groups in addition to the existing working groups. These sub-working groups will negotiate various issues that will be part of the upgrade, such as further liberalisation on trade in goods, customs procedures and trade facilitation, and cooperation in new sectors, such as the digital economy, green economy, supply chain connectivity, MSMEs, competition, and consumer protection.

• The Upgrade Negotiations for the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) by the 4th Special ACFTA-JC Meeting and Related Meetings on 10-12 April 2023 in Bangkok. The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: 
     1) Discussed to improve the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area that has been in force for almost 20 years since 2005 to keep up with the current situation and the changing trade patterns. This round of meetings consisted of a meeting of the Trade Negotiation Committee which oversees the overall picture of the negotiations and a meeting of 5 sub-working groups: trade in goods, investment, green economy, digital economy, and competition and consumer protection. ASEAN and China aimed to conclude the negotiations within 2024; 
     2) Discussed the important issue of ways to further liberalise trade in goods and investment. This was an important consideration in expanding the benefits of the ACFTA for Thai entrepreneurs. The Meeting also exchanged opinions on new areas of cooperation, such as strengthening supply chain connectivity, developing a green economy to make trade more environmentally friendly, and expanding the electronic trade economy under cooperation on the digital economy.

The ASEAN-China Free Trade Area (ACFTA) Upgrade Negotiations

• The 3rd Round of ACFTA Upgrade Negotiations between 24-27 June 2023 in Kunming, the People's Republic of China. The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: Noted the progress of negotiations for 10 sub-working groups, namely: Working Group on Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Working Group on Digital Economy, Working Group on MSMEs, and the Economic and Technical Cooperation Working Group discussed the draft chapters and agreed on some articles, most of which use the provisions from the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as the basis for negotiations. Meanwhile, the Working Group on Green Economy, Working Group on Competition and Consumer Protection, Working Group on Trade in Goods, Working Group on Investment, Working Group on Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures, Working Group on Legal and Institutional were in the process of exchanging opinions on the scope and structure of the chapters to be negotiated.

The 19th Meeting of the ASEAN-Korea FTA-Implementing Committee: AKFTA-IC (via video conference) on 27 July 2022.

     The Department of Trade Negotiations represented Thailand during the meeting. The meeting discussed several important issues, namely pushing South Korea to liberalize the tariffs on 100 percent coconut water products to return to the import tariff rate for 100 percent coconut water products at 0 percent after the increase in tariff to 40 percent in 2019. Recently, South Korea indicated their readiness to reduce the tariff to 0 percent if ASEAN could confirm its agreement by the end of August 2022. The meeting also discussed improvements to the AKFTA agreement, including the approach to open the market by liberalizing more tariff lines on sensitive goods, improvements to the trade in services and investment agreements, as well as the inclusion of additional chapters on modern issues to make the AKFTA more aligned with current business practices and to become a mechanism for expanding opportunities on trade and investment between ASEAN and South Korea. Additionally, the meeting also discussed the creation of working groups on the issue of technical barriers to trade (TBT) by specific sectors.

The 20th ASEAN Economic Ministers – Republic of Korea Consultation (AEM – ROK Consultation) on 22 August 2023 in Semarang. Republic of Indonesia.

     The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: The AKFTA Implementation Committee (AKFTA-IC) agreed to prepare a joint review study on upgrading the AKFTA. Important recommendations included the proposal to further liberalise trade in goods that will need to be discussed in detail and consideration on adding specific provisions regarding trade facilitation and promotion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). In addition, the meeting noted the progress of implementation under the AKFTA and expediting the transposition of the Tariff Reduction Schedule from HS 2017 into HS 2022 and the entry into force of the Protocol to Amend the ASEAN-Republic of Korea Agreement on Trade in Goods.
 

ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA Joint Committee: FJC (via video conference)

• The 15th FJC Meeting was held on 7 March 2022. The key points from the meeting can be summarized as follows:
     1) Members agreed to negotiate a total of 15 chapters, of which one chapter has been concluded, which is Competition, and six chapters were being negotiated. Nevertheless, Australia and New Zealand have urged members to expedite their internal process and to drive forward the negotiations while the RCEP can be used as a basis for negotiations.
     2) On the discussion of investment issue, Australia proposed to upgrade the level of commitment on the Investor-State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) mechanism, while New Zealand proposed to remove the mechanism from the AANZFTA and proposed to include the obligations on Trade and Sustainable Development (TSD) in the AANZFTA.
     3) The meeting noted the schedule for the 16th FJC Meeting to be held on 21 April 2022 (via video conference) and there will be an ASEAN Caucus meeting on 18 April 2022.

• The 16th FJC Meeting on 18 and 21 April 2022. The meeting urged the working groups to organize more meetings during the year and to use the Friends of the Chair mechanism to help resolve problems in the negotiations and to expedite the negotiations to upgrade the agreement so that it can be concluded as scheduled in September 2022.

• The 17th FJC Meeting between 13-17 June 2022. The meeting asked member countries to review their negotiating stance that is too high standards and requested members to exercise their flexibility in their negotiations that is based on the benefits that businesses will receive to speed up economic recovery in the region from COVID-19.

• The 19th FJC Meeting on 10-13 October 2022. Various working groups were able to negotiate and conclude 85 percent of the chapters/articles/appendices being upgraded in AANZFTA, with only technical issues remaining.

• The 20th FJC Meeting on 14-17 February 2023. Various working groups were able to negotiate and conclude the chapters/clauses/appendices being upgraded in AANZFTA and prepared the conduct of relevant internal processes to sign the 2nd Protocol to Amend the AANZFTA by 99.6 percent.

The 55th ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) Meeting on 19 August 2023 in Semarang, Republic of Indonesia. 
     The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: 
     1) Concluded the negotiations to upgrade the ASEAN-Australia- New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) and scheduled the signing of the 2nd Protocol to Amend the AANZFTA on 21 August 2023. Six Members that were able to sign the 2nd Protocol included Australia, New Zealand, Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Singapore. The remaining six members, namely Thailand, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Cambodia, the Philippines, and Vietnam would sign the Protocol later; and 
     2) Carried out the AANZFTA Implementation Support Program (AISP), which aimed to support ASEAN member states in taking advantage of the upgraded agreement and to have access to assistance from specialists to develop capabilities of personnel in relevant agencies.

The 28th ASEAN Economic Ministers – Closer Economic Relations Consultation (AEM-CER Consultation) on 22 August 2023. 
     The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: Noted the opinions of the private sector of Australia and New Zealand who asked for support on issues, such as the participation of MSMEs in international trade and promoting the transparent dissemination of trade-related information with ease of access, as well as noted the progress on the upgrade of the AANZFTA. In addition, the Meeting also noted the announcement of a substantial conclusion of the negotiations to upgrade the AANZFTA Agreement during the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit in November 2022 in the Kingdom of Cambodia. The Meeting was then able to conclude the negotiations of all articles in February 2023, as well as concluded the market access negotiations on trade in services and investment and conducted the legal scrub in June 2023.

The 29th ASEAN Economic Ministers – Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry Consultation (AEM – METI Consultation) on 22 August 22 2023 in Semarang, Republic of Indonesia. The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: The meeting endorsed the “Future Design and Action Plan of Innovative and Sustainable ASEAN-Japan Economic Partnership 2023-2033” (Developed by the ASEAN – Japan governments) and the initiative on “ASEAN-Japan Economic Co-Creation Vision” (Developed by the private and academic sectors of ASEAN and Japan). The two initiatives were important outcomes in celebration of the 50th anniversary of ASEAN-Japan relations in 2023 and will be reported to the 26th ASEAN-Japan Summit in September 2023 and the Special ASEAN-Japan Summit in December 2023 in Tokyo to note.

The 20th ASEAN Economic Ministers – India Consultation (AEM – India Consultation) on 21 August 2023 in Semarang, Republic of Indonesia. The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: The meeting endorsed 3 important documents related to the review of the AITIGA, namely: (1) The negotiation plan and time frame for reviewing the AITIGA; (2) The scope of duties of AITIGA – JC; and (3) The structure of negotiation for the AITIGA to initiate the review of the ASEAN-India Trade in Goods Agreement and to conclude the review within 2025.

Senior Economic Officials’ Meeting Retreat: SEOM Retreat (via video conference) on 11 January 2022 discussed the progress and the approach to the work of ASEAN in the negotiation of the ASEAN-EU agreement. However, the ASEAN-EU Working Group Meeting was postponed, as the EU was still considering the draft of the scope document, while the meeting is expected to be held in the 4th quarter of the fiscal year 2022. The Department has acted on the issue related to the document on the scope of the ASEAN-EU by commenting on the draft document on the Plan of Action to Implement the ASEAN-EU Strategic Partnership (2023-2027).

The 19th ASEAN Economic Ministers – EU Trade Commissioner Consultation (AEM-EU Consultation) on 20 August 2023 in Semarang, Republic of Indonesia. The meeting took place with the following key outcomes: (1) Implementation of the ASEAN-EU Trade and Investment Work Plan 2022-2023; (2) Outcomes of the meeting and recommendations of the ASEAN-EU Trade and Investment Joint Working Group to promote relations and cooperation between ASEAN and the EU in the short-medium term in areas of mutual interests to both sides, particularly in the field of digital economy, technology and green services, and flexible supply chains. The aim was to elevate the relationship to maximise benefits for both parties that can lead to achieving the long-term goal of development of a free trade agreement between each other; and (3) The Meeting endorsed the ASEAN-EU Trade and Investment Work Plan 2024-2025, which is a document specifying the work plan of ASEAN and the EU over the two years to expand economic cooperation, trade, and investment.

Preparatory Meeting of the Trade Negotiation Free Trade Agreement Negotiation Committee ASEAN-Canada met on 8 April 2022 to discuss the plan of negotiations and to establish the negotiating committee and various sub-working groups after the launch of the negotiations by the Economic Ministers from ASEAN and Canada in November 2021. During the meeting, ASEAN members and Canada agreed to establish the Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) comprising senior officials from ASEAN and Canada acting as the lead of the negotiating committee for the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA) and set up the first 5 working groups to negotiate the important Chapters, which were Trade of Goods, Trade in Services, Investment, Rules of Origin, and Legal and Institutional Arrangements. Additional negotiating groups could be set up if necessary. In 2022, ASEAN and Canada planned to hold four negotiation rounds and aimed to conclude the negotiations within 2023.

The Meeting of the ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement Trade Negotiating Committee Meeting (ACAFTA TNC)

• The 1st ACAFTA TNC Meeting met on 30 August and 1 September 2022 to commence negotiations, as well as to track the progress of the negotiations in various working groups, and considered the work plan on the negotiations. At this stage, it was expected that the 2nd Meeting of the ACAFTA TNC (via video conference) will be held in late November 2022, with the 3rd meeting expected to be held in the first quarter of 2023.

• The 2nd ACAFTA TNC Meeting on 21, 23, and 24 November 2022 (via videoconference). The meeting took place to note the progress according to the negotiation work plan for 2022 and discussed the 2023 negotiation work plan, while also pushed forward the discussion on outstanding issues on labour, environment, and inclusive trade, as well as following up on the progress of negotiations of various negotiation working groups.   

• The Special ACAFTA TNC Meeting on 23 February 2023 in Bandung, Republic of Indonesia. The meeting took place to discuss ways forward for the negotiations on labour, environment, and trade that place importance on all stakeholders. as well as followed up on the progress of ACAFTA negotiations under various working groups and discussed the negotiation work plan for 2023.

• The 3rd ACAFTA TNC Meeting on 18 April 2023 (via videoconference). The meeting took place to follow up on the progress and discuss important issues under the ACAFTA negotiations, including the work plan for 2023.

• The 4th ACAFTA TNC Meeting on 22 June 2023 (via videoconference). The meeting took place to follow up on the progress and discuss important issues under the ACAFTA negotiations, including the work plan.

• The 5th ACAFTA TNC Meeting on 25-29 September 2023 in Bali, Republic of Indonesia. The meeting took place to follow up on the progress and discuss important issues under the ACAFTA negotiations, including the work plan.

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