In-Country Training for Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and Good Regulatory Practices (GRP) in Thailand, Viet Nam and the Philippines

From 22-30 August 2019, UNCTAD in collaboration with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) conducted in-country capacity building workshops on Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and making good regulatory policy in 3 countries (Thailand, Viet Nam, and Philippines) to government officials across various ministries and institutions working on trade policy formation.

Background

UNCTAD and ERIA in the past have collaborated on NTM data collection in ASEAN in 2015 and data update in 2018. At the 12th meeting of the ASEAN Trade Facilitation Joint Consultative Committee (ATF-JCC), ASEAN Member States (AMS) have agreed to utilize UNCTAD-ERIA database as a primary input to the NTM section in the ASEAN Trade Repository.

To further support the work in managing NTMs in ASEAN, as well as ensuring the transparency and sustainability of the NTMs maintenance in ASEAN, a capacity building program has been identified. At the 19th ATFJCC, UNCTAD-ERIA in response to the request from AMS, agreed on conducting a capacity building (in-country training) that would help AMS to identify, collect and classify NTMs according to UNCTAD’s International Classification on NTMs and to design and manage good regulatory practices in ASEAN countries.

The capacity building trainings will be offered to all AMS in 3 batches (3-4 counties at a time), featuring 4 key components: 1) the perception of NTMs, what they are and why they are important 2) the collection and classification of NTMs in ASEAN 3) basic analysis of NTMs based on descriptive indicators 4) examples of good regulatory practice in managing NTMs in developing countries, which might be later replicated for ASEAN countries.

Highlights and Outcomes

The 2-day in-country capacity building workshop in Thailand (22-23 Aug), Viet Nam (26-27 Aug) and the Philippines (29-30 Aug), were organized at the request of the respective member state through the ASEAN Secretariat as a response to the AEC 2025 Trade Strategic Plan, and the endorsement of the ASEAN Economic Ministers to the Guideline for the Implementation of ASEAN Commitments on Non-Tariff Measures in Goods.

In order to support AMS to be in the best position to regularly update their respective NTM section of the National Trade Repository (NTR) and to review and assess their current regulations on NTMs, UNCTAD has provided comprehensive training covering the following topics:

For each country, there were around 30 mid-level government officials from a wide range of line ministries and agencies that have participated. The participants expressed strong interest in learning about NTMs, classifying NTMs based on the International Classification, and to use the UNCTAD-ERIA NTMs data to help maintain the NTMs section of AMS’s National Trade Repository (NTR). Furthermore, participants of the 3 countries highly appreciated the interactive panel discussion with experts from UNCTAD, ERIA and local government to discuss good regulatory practice and how to design and manage NTMs.