ASEAN Tariff Finder – Supporting MSMEs into Regional and Global Value Chains

By：ASEAN Secretariat News Update：2016-08-11

Following the establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015, tariffs for products have virtually been eliminated. ASEAN has also continued to progress its free trade agreements (FTAs) with several major trading partners to further enhance its participation in both regional and global value chains and production networks.

One challenge is to ensure that the benefits from the progress of regional integration agenda be extended to all stakeholders particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs).

The AEC Blueprint 2025 highlights the role of MSMEs as the backbone of the ASEAN Economies. The 2013 ASEAN-Business Advisory Council Survey on Competitiveness highlighted that despite continued strong interests in investing in the region, there has been limited engagement of MSMEs in export or outward foreign direct investment activities. MSMEs continue to face challenges in seizing opportunities from new markets following the conclusion of ASEAN+1 FTAs in the absence of timely and up-to-date information.

The ASEAN Tariff Finder responds to this challenge.

Launched at the 48th AEM Meeting in August 2016 as one of the key deliverables under Lao PDR’s ASEAN Chairmanship in 2016, the ASEAN Tariff Finder is designed as a user-friendly tool to support businesses, especially MSMEs to obtain the up-to-date information on the preferential tariffs applied by ASEAN Member States under ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) or by ASEAN Member States and their trading partners under various ASEAN+1 FTAs. It also sets out the rules of origin criteria used to determine a product’s eligibility for preferential tariff treatment. With this search engine, traders will save time and resources in their transactions, since all tariff information they need is now only a click-away.