ASEAN: Regional Trends in Economic Integration, Export ... - USITC

Windows (NSWs) of Member Countries operate and integrate,” and says that National
Single Windows enable:
a. a single submission of data and information;
b. a single and synchronous processing of data and information; and
c. a single decision-making point for customs release and clearance. 88
Members agreed that the ASEAN-6 (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand, and Singapore) would activate their NSWs by 2008, while the ASEAN-4
(Cambodia, Laos, Burma, and Vietnam) would do so no later than 2012. The effective
deadline for completion of the ASW is 2015. 89 As of March 2010, Singapore was the
only member with a fully operational NSW. Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines,
and Thailand had partially completed their NSWs, while Vietnam had completed a
National Single Window Master Plan and was piloting an “E-Customs” system intended
to be a core element of its NSW. Cambodia, Laos, and Burma have made much less
progress. 90
The ASW will enable ASEAN member countries’ customs agencies to exchange
information required for the ASEAN Customs Declaration Document (ACDD),
certificates of origin for preferential trade agreements, and other key documents for
trading and transporting goods. The ASW will use a “federated approach” 91 that permits
the exchange of information among ASEAN members’ customs agencies without storing
the information on a central server. Design of an ASW prototype (the ASW Pilot Project)
is scheduled for completion in fall 2010. 92
Private sector representatives consulted for this study were enthusiastic about the ASW’s
potential to produce significant benefits for companies and member economies. 93 For
example, the director of a multinational manufacturer in Vietnam suggested that the
ASW, as part of a broader regional program to eliminate barriers to cross-border trade,
could enable his firm to concentrate production at the most efficient locations and then
ship the products throughout the region. 94
However, firms had a number of concerns. First, many felt that work on the ASW and
NSWs had proceeded too slowly. Observers attributed delays to disagreements among
ASEAN member countries over the ASW’s architecture rather than technical challenges.
Sources suggested that one country in the region feared that the ASW could compromise
the security of traders’ information and could undermine the competitive advantages that
the country enjoys due to the strength of its own NSW. 95 Secondly, private sector
representatives were uncertain whether the ASW would include features that would make
88 ASEAN, “Agreement to Establish and Implement the ASEAN Single Window,” December 9, 2005.
89 The ASW Agreement named no specific deadline for completion of the ASW. However, another
official document commits members to “accelerate the full implementation of the ASEAN Community’s
programme areas, measures and principles” with a view to realizing an “ASEAN Economic Community” by
2015. ASEAN, “Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the Establishment of an ASEAN Community by
2015,” January 13, 2007.
90 Le, “Briefing on ASEAN Single Window,” March 9, 2010; government official, interview by USITC
staff, Hanoi, Vietnam, March 8, 2010.
91 Le, “Briefing on ASEAN Single Window,” March 9, 2010.
92 Benjelloun, “Technical Instructions,” March 31, 2010, 5.
93 Mealy, written testimony to the USITC, February 4, 2010, 3; industry representatives, interview by
USITC staff, Singapore, March 4, 2010.
94 Industry representative, interview by USITC staff, Hanoi, Vietnam, March 8, 2010.
95 Industry representatives, interviews by USITC staff, Singapore, March 4, 2010.
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