Singapore has ratified the Association of Southeast Asian Nations ("ASEAN") Trade in Services Agreement ("ATISA"), becoming the first of the ASEAN Member States to do so. In a press release on 5 April 2021 (available here), the Ministry of Trade and Industry ("MTI") announced that Singapore had completed the ratification process, and that its rights and obligations under the ATISA had commenced on the same day. MTI also stated that other ASEAN Member States would be continuing their internal procedures to ratify the ATISA within the year.
The ATISA reduces "beyond-the-border" barriers, providing a legally binding guarantee of the widest preferential services market access into ASEAN markets to date. The ATISA seeks to benefit businesses and workers by further promoting trade in services in the ASEAN region and improving business confidence for businesses and service suppliers in all sectors. It has a wide coverage of service sectors, including Professional Services, Telecommunications, Financial Services, Computer and Related Services, Distribution and Logistics Services.
The measures under the ATISA include the following:
- It establishes services liberalisation commitments, including the reduction of discriminatory regulatory barriers and creation of a more transparent regime for ASEAN services suppliers.
- It establishes a built-in agenda for ASEAN Member States to convert their liberalisation commitments to a negative list approach.
For more information, click here to read our Legal Update.
