Market access is primarily conceived in terms of the removal of tariff barriers to trade, and in that sense, ASEAN has been remarkably successful in negotiating tariffs downward over the past two decades.
However, free flow in agrifood trade in ASEAN has not yet been achieved, with key obstacles being non-tariff measures (NTMs), including regulatory instruments such as sanitary and phytosanitary (SPS) measure as well as import licences and testing and certification requirements.
NTMs affect producers, importers and exporters alike by increasing information, compliance and procedural costs.
ASEAN has been implementing a work programme to reduce the trade-distorting effects of NTMs on agrifood trade for more than a decade under the ASEAN Framework Agreement for the Integration of Priority Sectors signed in 2004.
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