In accordance with Paragraphs 4 and 5 of Article 42 (Elimination of Other Non-Tariff Barriers) of the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), ASEAN Member States (AMS) shall review any non-tariff measure (NTM) notified or reported by any other Member State or by the private sector to determine whether the measure is trade-distorting and constitutes a non-tariff barrier (NTB).  

 The ASEAN Trade Facilitation Joint Consultative Committee (ATF-JCC) discusses these complaints.  While the NTM raised is not automatically removed, relevant AMS work together to resolve the issue raised by the complaining Member State.  There are currently eleven (11) complaints involving Indonesia, Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Thailand, and Vietnam.  Most of these involve the issuance of import permits and regulations that affect the entry of certain goods into the domestic market of an AMS.  

Philippine exporters are encouraged to submit outstanding concerns with respect to NTMs which adversely affect access to the markets of other AMS by 05 April 2024 to the Regional Relations and Arrangements Division of the Bureau of International Trade Relations at BITR-RRAD@dti.gov.ph . The template for filing a complaint is attached as Annex A. For reference, the “Matrix of Actual Cases” (MAC) outlining the eleven (11) complaints being discussed by the ATF-JCC is included as Annex B.  

For any questions/clarifications, you may email our market officer for ASEAN, Ms. Mary Fatima N. Barrameda at MaryFatimaBarrameda@dti.gov.ph and/or MID@dti.gov.ph.