ASEAN, South Korea work to ensure products’ rules of origin

The Agency of Foreign Trade under the Ministry of Industry and Trade, and the ASEAN Secretariat on Monday opened a joint session of ASEAN and Korean experts on the transposition of ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) product specific rules from harmonised system codes HS 2017 into HS 2022.

Attending the three-day event in the northern coastal province of Quang Ninh are representatives from South Korea and 10 ASEAN member states.

Delegates are expected to review and aim for nearly 7,000 tariff lines of the product specific rule (PSR) transposition list in the AKFTA to be converted from codes HS 2017 to HS 2022; and discuss progress and mechanism for implementing rules of origin in accordance with the new HS code.

According to the World Customs Organisation, the HS code is regularly updated every 5 years to ensure compatibility with international commercial types and needs.

Nguyen Anh Son, Director of the Agency of Foreign Trade, emphasised that transposing PSR on time will ensure estimates and transparency for businesses, while delaying the conversion will lead to increases in costs and loss of benefits of the AKFTA.

A line-by-line review of 7,000 tariff lines will require high concentration and great consensus from the ASEAN countries and South Korea, he stressed.

Sasikanya Ponien, co-head of the ASEAN-Korea Sub-Committee on Tariffs and Rules of Origin, appreciated Vietnam’s organisation of this session, saying that its success will connect the ASEAN member countries and South Korea, and bring price competition opportunities to exporters.