ASEAN works to boost trade to deal with COVID-19 crisis
ASEAN members are working on facilitating increased trade, removing trade barriers and reducing transaction costs to deal with the COVID-19 crisis, the top official at Thailand's Department of Trade Negotiations said on March 4.
ASEAN members are working on facilitating increased trade, removing trade barriers and reducing transaction costs to deal with the COVID-19 crisis (Photo: aseanbriefing.com)
Bangkok (VNA) - ASEAN members are working on facilitating increasedtrade, removing trade barriers and reducing transaction costs to deal with theCOVID-19 crisis, the top official at Thailand's Department of TradeNegotiations said on March 4.
Departmentdirector-general Auramon Supthaweethum made the remarks after attending the22nd ASEAN Trade Facilitation Joint Consultative Committee (ATF-JCC) viateleconference, local media reported.
Shesaid Thailand has requested additional details from ASEAN members on usingtrade measures to ensure that the operation will be in line with the agreementand facilitate Thai exporters.
"In 2021, ASEAN improved trade facilitation and the average scoreincreased by 13 percent compared to 2017," Auramon was quoted as saying bythe English-language newspaper The Nation.
"Thailand was ranked No. 2 in ASEAN trade facilitation, behindSingapore."
According to Auramon, Thailand has cooperated with ASEAN on operating underNon-Tariff Measures guidelines to remove trade barriers in the region as well.
In 2021, trade between Thailand and ASEAN was worth 110.79 billion USD, up17.09 percent year on year. Of the total, Thailand’s exports accounted for 65.02billion USD and 45.78 billion USD were imports, up 17.24 percent and 16.89 percent,respectively.
Major exports included oil, gold, electric circuits, trucks, beverages,air-conditioners and cars, while major imports included oil, electricity,natural gas, voice recorders, electronic components, electric circuits andcoal./.
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The Republic of Korea (RoK), China and Japan agreed on May 3 to reinforce the regional financial safety net, along with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), by launching a new financing facility programme meant to extend greater support in case of a financial crisis.
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The Customs Department of Thailand is scheduled to commence the collection of value-added tax (VAT) on imported goods sent via postal services, regardless of the goods value, starting in May.
A lecturer from Chulalongkorn University’s Faculty of Medicine has warned Thais to be more vigilant against COVID-19, saying infection rates appeare to be worsening with higher hospital admissions, deaths and severe cases.
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The ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) entered its second plenary session in Hanoi on the afternoon of April 23, discussing ways to ensure comprehensive security for the people-centred ASEAN Community.
The first session of the ASEAN Future Forum 2024 (AFF 2024) in Hanoi on April 23 focused on fast and sustainable growth for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).
The Canada-ASEAN Business Council (CABC) and the ASEAN Alliance on Carbon Markets (AACM) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to strengthen collaboration and accelerate the implementation of carbon crediting programmes across Southeast Asia.
ASEAN Secretary-General Kao Kim Hourn reaffirmed ASEAN leaders' commitment to empowering the youth to unleash their full potential when he had a dialogue with ASEAN youth in Hanoi on April 22 on the sidelines of the ASEAN Future Forum (AF 2024).
The Thai Government is being urged to increase the proportion of renewable power generation to more than the target of 50% set in the power development plan (PDP).
The Centre for Volcanology and Geological Hazard Mitigation (PVMBG) of Indonesia on April 21 lifted its tsunami advisory issued previously following the eruption of Mount Ruang in Sitaro district of North Sulawesi province.
Thailand expects to export about 1 million tonnes of durian, valued at an estimated 130 billion THB (3.53 billion USD) this year, with most of the shipments to China, according to Minister of Agriculture Thammanat Prompao.
The 72nd meeting of the ASEAN Working Group on Intellectual Property Cooperation (AWGIPC) and related meetings are being held by the Ministry of Science and Technology’s Intellectual Property Office (IPO) of Vietnam in the central city of Da Nang on April 22-26.
Enhancing regional food security and tackling the pressing challenges of climate change will be key agendas defining Malaysia’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2025, Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat (lower house) Johari Abdul told the press on April 19.
ASEAN members are working on facilitating increased trade, removing trade barriers and reducing transaction costs to deal with the COVID-19 crisis (Photo: aseanbriefing.com) 
