The United States, the European Union and Japan continued to be ASEAN`s main export markets. Japan, followed by the United States and the EU, was ASEAN`s main source of imports. In the first half of 2002-03, ASEAN-6 trade with major markets increased by 11.71% for exports and 6.91% for imports. However, ASEAN exports to the United States and India, as well as imports from Canada and India, declined over the same period. [Figure 5] The EU also funds regional trade projects such as: these two agreements have the common effect of making ASEAN the strategic hub for global supply and production. With a base of 150 million consumers of the middle class aSEAN, this market, which was then coupled with the 250 million from China and India, represents a middle-class consumer market, with a total free trade of about 650 million people – today. By 2030, in the face of Asia`s growing prosperity and growing dynamism, about 64% of the world`s middle class will be established in Asia, representing 40% of the total global consumption of the middle class. The ASEAN bloc has largely eliminated all import and export taxes on goods traded between them, with the exception of Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar and Vietnam, which continue to impose nominal duties on certain items. But these will also be fully lifted on 31 December 2015, so that the entire region will be duty-free from that date. ASEAN has concluded a number of free trade agreements with other Asian countries that are radically changing the global public procurement and production landscape. It has, for example, a contract with China that has effectively reduced tariff reduction to nearly 8,000 product categories, or 90% of imported goods, to zero. These favourable conditions came into force in China and in ASEAN members, including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
The ASEAN-Korea Goods Trade Agreement was signed in 2006 and came into force in 2007. It defines the preferential trade regime for goods between ASEAN member countries and South Korea, allowing 90% of the products traded between ASEAN and South Korea to be processed duty-free. The agreement provides for a phasing-out and removal of tariffs for almost all products by each country. As part of the trade agreement, ASEAN-6, including Brunei Darussalam and Korea, eliminated more than 90% of tariffs by January 2010. Efforts to close the development gap and expand trade among ASEAN members are essential elements of the political debate. According to a 2008 research mandate published by the World Bank as part of its “Trade Costs and Relief” project,[11] ASEAN members have the potential to reap significant benefits from investment in new trade facilitation reforms, as a result of the important customs reform already implemented by the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement. An Introduction to Tax Treaties Across Asia In this issue of Asia Briefing Magazine, we examine the different types of trade and tax agreements that exist between Asian nations. These include bilateral investment agreements, bilateral double taxation agreements and free trade agreements that cover all companies directly active in Asia.
Over the past decade, trade and investment between ASEAN member states and China has increased significantly under the ASEAN Free Trade Area (ACFTA). The Convention on Trade in Goods was signed in 2004 and implemented by all Member States in July 2005. As part of the agreement, the six asean and Chinese members decided to eliminate tariffs on 90% of their products by 2010, while Cambodia, PDR, Myanmar and Vietnam, commonly known as CLMV countries, had until 2015 to do so. Since the signing of the agreement, China has maintained its position as ASEAN`s largest trading partner