Asean ministers sign new deal

• Nov 14, 2018

Asean members have agreed on three trade pacts on Monday during the 33rd Asean Summit in Singapore, including the landmark Asean Agreement on E-Commerce. 
Deputy Commerce Minister Chutima Bunyapraphasara, who attended the summit, said this is the bloc’s first deal to facilitate cross-border e-commerce transactions after nine rounds of negotiations. 
The pact aims to improve the business environment and the credibility of e-commerce mechanisms such as customer protection, personal data privacy protection and cybersecurity. The objective is to reduce the development gap for each country, she said. 
“When the agreement comes into force, there will be cooperation on information technology infrastructure and communications, education promotion, and logistics system development,” said Ms Chutima. “It is expected to drive economic growth in Asean.” 
The pact is expected to become effective at the beginning of next year after all 10 Asean members ratify on this agreement. The agreement is projected to help e- commerce development in Cambodia, Myanmar and Laos, putting regulations on a level playing field in the bloc. 
From 2014, Thailand’s e-commerce trade volume has grown every year, rising 9.86% to 2.81 trillion baht in 2017. The biggest volume was for retail and wholesale businesses, followed by hotel and resort reservations, manufacturing, data, information and communications, and transport. 
Asean economic ministers also finalised the Asean Trade in Services Agreement (Atisa). This pact is meant to deepen the integration of the Asean services markets and introduce commitments related to services trade, creating a more liberal, stable and predictable environment for service suppliers in the region. 
Atisa replaces the current services agreement that was introduced in 1995, and it is hoped to reduce trade obstacles. The pact should enhance Thai services growth in Asean, including health care, tourism, hotels, restaurants, construction, and convention and exhibition services, said Ms Chutima. 
A comprehensive investment agreement was also hammered out at the summit to provide better investor protection. 

Source: https://www.bangkokpost.com/business/news/1575374/asean-ministers-sign-new-deal