In Focus: Utilising ASEAN Free Trade Agreements with the new ASEAN Tariff Finder

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025 Blueprint aims to create a highly integrated economy, supported by initiatives like the upgraded ASEAN Tariff Finder, an online platform designed to help businesses, especially MSMEs. This article explains how ASEAN Tariff Finder can help businesses maximize benefits from regional and bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and navigate customs and trade regulations across over 160 countries, simplifying the trade processes and enhancing competitiveness.

By The ASEAN Secretariat

The ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) 2025 Blueprint envisions creating a deeply integrated and highly cohesive ASEAN economy, among others, to facilitate the seamless movement of goods within ASEAN to enhance ASEAN’s trade and production network.

To further boost this effort, ASEAN is upgrading the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) to include provisions to facilitate trade, including the elimination and prevention of the use of non-tariff barriers, address implementation issues, promote transparency to enhance intra-ASEAN and facilitate AMS’ participation in global and regional supply chains.

In addition to ATIGA, ASEAN has signed several Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) with its dialogue partners, including China, Japan, the Republic of Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, and Hong Kong, China, and regional agreements such as Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).

However, evidence suggests that the utilisation rates of most FTAs involving ASEAN countries are low and are mostly below 50%. Businesses, particularly MSMEs, have difficulties to utilise FTAs. Recognising this issue, ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) launched the upgraded ASEAN Tariff Finder at the sideline of the 55th AEM Meeting in Semarang, Indonesia.

ASEAN Tariff Finder

The new ASEAN Tariff Finder is an online platform designed to support traders to maximise benefits from regional and bilateral Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), including the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), ASEAN+1 FTAs, and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) Agreement.

The ASEAN Tariff Finder is now ready to support users, particularly Micro, Small, and Medium Sized Enterprises (MSMEs), who wish to explore the markets of more than 160 countries. The tool is free for all traders located within the region to get accurate and constantly updated information on customs and trade regulations, rules of origin, and market access requirements, among other things, which would save businesses from the stress of uncertainty, layers of bureaucracy, and long searches.

Step-by-Step Guide to Utilising the New ASEAN Tariff Finder

 

1.  Signing up to the ASEAN Tariff Finder

Businesses must set up their account in the ASEAN Tariff Finder using a valid email to

access the platform. Businesses are also asked to provide basic business information such as location and sector. Upon successful registration, users will be requested to verify their email by following the link provided in the email confirmation.

2. Identifying Product Code and Country of Origin and Destination.

Users may key in either the product code based on the Harmonised System (HS) or the keywords, the country of origin, and the country of destination in the platform as shown below.

3. Check all requirements for customs clearance and market access

ASEAN Tariff Finder provides information on Most Favoured Nation (MFN) duty rates, tariff quotas and suspensions, preferential duty rates for goods, and additional duties levied at import. It also provides information on turnover taxes such as Value Added Tax (VAT) or sales tax, excise duties, or other taxes and charges levied before goods are released for free circulation.

Further, it also contains information on the relevant non-tariff measures for the specific product in the destination country. All the country datasets contain (i) a detailed country overview, (ii) general requirements relevant for all products, (iii) specific requirements relevant for certain products, (iv) a delineation of documents required for customs clearance and market access, and (v) detailed descriptions of the measures with translation of possible forms from the original language to English.

Benefits for Businesses

Easing the Research Process to Utilise FTAs ASEAN Tariff Finder becomes a one-stop information platform with a comprehensive, accurate, and most updated list of FTAs. It will enable businesses to find the most competitive FTA for their product. Furthermore, businesses can save time and resources, as all trade-related information is readily accessible through the ASEAN Tariff Finder, offered free to all businesses within the ASEAN region.

Benefit from Lower Tariffs

The application of the corresponding rules of origin in FTAs may lead to reduced tariff rates or duty-free access for the product. ASEAN Tariff Finder will show the applicable rates for all the existing FTAs enabling businesses to choose the FTA that offers the most competitive preferential margin. The platform will also show the relevant specific rules of origin that will guide businesses in fulfilling the required trade documents.

The ASEAN Tariff Finder is accessible at https://tariff-finder.asean.org

 

This article was first published by the ASEAN Secretariat in their ASEAN for Business Monthly Bulletin in August 2023.

 

About ASEAN for Business

ASEAN for Business is a bulletin published by the Enterprise and Stakeholder Engagement Division of the ASEAN Secretariat. This monthly bulletin provides quick updates on specific topics related to the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) for businesses operating in the region.

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Mouna Aouri

Programme Fellow

Mouna Aouri is an Institute Fellow at the Tech For Good Institute. As a social entrepreneur, impact investor, and engineer, her experience spans over two decades in the MENA region, South East Asia, and Japan. She is founder of Woomentum, a Singapore-based platform dedicated to supporting women entrepreneurs in APAC through skill development and access to growth capital through strategic collaborations with corporate entities, investors and government partners.

Dr Ming Tan

Founding Executive Director

Dr Ming Tan is founding Executive Director for the Tech for Good Institute, a non-profit founded to catalyse research and collaboration on social, economic and policy trends accelerated by the digital economy in Southeast Asia. She is concurrently a Senior Fellow at the Centre for Governance and Sustainability at the National University of Singapore and Advisor to the Founder of the COMO Group, a Singaporean portfolio of lifestyle companies operating in 15 countries worldwide.  Her research interests lie at the intersection of technology, business and society, including sustainability and innovation.

 

Ming was previously Managing Director of IPOS International, part of the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore, which supports Singapore’s future growth as a global innovation hub for intellectual property creation, commercialisation and management. Prior to joining the public sector, she was Head of Stewardship of the COMO Group and the founding Executive Director of COMO Foundation, a grantmaker focused on gender equity that has served over 47 million women and girls since 2003.

 

As a company director, she lends brand and strategic guidance to several companies within the COMO Group. Ming also serves as a Council Member of the Council for Board Diversity, on the boards of COMO Foundation and Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC), and on the Digital and Technology Advisory Panel for Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre.

 

In the non-profit, educational and government spheres, Ming is a director of COMO Foundation and Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) and chairs the Asia Advisory board for Swiss hospitality business and management school EHL. She also serves on  the Council for Board Diversity and the Digital and Technology Advisory Panel for Esplanade–Theatres on the Bay, Singapore’s national performing arts centre.

 

Ming was educated in Singapore, the United States, and England. She obtained her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Stanford University and her doctorate from Oxford.