Enhanced transparency regulations across ASEAN: Reports

This is as per media reports, which added representatives from South Korea and all 10 ASEAN countries, alongside several delegates participating online, attended the three-day conference held in Halong City, Quang Ninh Province.

During the session, delegates focused on reviewing and converting nearly 7,000 tariff lines of the Product Specific Rules (PSR) transposition list in the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) from HS 2017 to HS 2022.

Additionally, they discussed progress and mechanisms for implementing rules of origin based on the new HS code.

The update, mandated by World Customs Organization (WCO) regulations, ensures compatibility with international standards and commercial needs. Adapting criteria for determining goods’ origin in free trade agreements, including the ASEAN-Korea FTA, is crucial.

Nguyen Anh Son, director of the Import-Export Department, emphasised the importance of timely PSR conversion for business transparency. Delaying this process would escalate costs and undermine ASEAN FTA benefits. The meticulous review requires consensus from ASEAN countries and Korea.

Since the signing of the Framework Agreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation in 2005, and the Trade in Goods Agreement’s implementation in June 2007, AKFTA has regulated origin determination for preferential tariffs.

The conversion facilitates importers in utilising certificates of origin, ensuring AKFTA’s preferential tax rates.

South Korea remains a significant market for Vietnamese exports, with a notable preference for FTA benefits, particularly in seafood, agricultural products, wood, footwear, and textiles.

Last year, Vietnam’s goods with preferential certificates of origin exported to Korea totalled $12.2 billion, indicating the substantial impact of FTA utilisation.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DR)