MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING
ON STANDSTILL AND ROLLBACK ON
NON-TARIFF BARRIERS AMONG ASEAN COUNTRIES
Manila, 15 December 1987
The Government of Brunei Darussalam, the
Republic of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Republic of
the Philippines, the Republic of Singapore and
the Kingdom of Thailand (hereinafter referred to
as the Contracting Parties), Member States of
the Association of Southeast Asian Nations
(ASEAN):
MINDFUL of the Declaration of ASEAN
Concord signed in Bali, Indonesia on 24 February
1976 which provides that Member States shall
take cooperative action in their national and
regional development programmes, utilizing as far
as possible the resources available in the ASEAN
region to broaden the complementarity of their
respective economies;
AWARE of the Declaration of ASEAN
Concords provision for a programme of action
that seeks cooperation in the field of trade in
order to promote development and growth of
new production and trade and to improve the
trade structures of individual states and among
ASEAN countries;
CONSCIOUS of the need to address both
tariff and non-tariff barriers to trade as means for
achieving these ends;
NOTING that the Agreement on ASEAN
Preferential Trading Arrangements (PTA) signed
in Manila, Philippines on 24 February 1977
provides for the adoption of various instruments,
among them the liberalization of non-tariff
barriers on a preferential basis-,
DESIRING to effect further the provisions of
the ASEAN-PTA in consonance with ASEANs
international commitments;
HAVE AGREED to sign a Memorandum of
Understanding with the following provisions:
I. DEFINITIONS
1. For the purpose of this Memorandum, all
parties agree to the following definitions:
a) "Standstill Commitment" means the
undertaking by and among the Contracting
Parties not to introduce new or
additional non-tariff measures which
would impede intra-ASEAN trade;
b) "Rollback Commitment" means the
undertaking by and among Contracting
Parties to phase out or eliminate non-
tariff measures which would impede
intra-ASEAN trade;
c) "Non-tariff measures" refer to government
measures or policies other than
duties which affect trade.
II. EXTENT/COVERAGE OF COMMITMENT
2. The commitments of the Contracting Parties
on standstill and rollback shall cover not only
non-tariff measures which are inconsistent with
the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade
(GATT) but also non-tariff measures which are
consistent with GATT;
3. The Contracting Parties shall implement their
commitments on standstill and rollback to
categories of non-tariff measures, inter alia, those
listed in Annex 1, affecting ASEAN products of
interest to and being traded in ASEAN;
4. Without prejudice to the obligations of the
Contracting Parties under GATT, ASEAN
products shall be taken to mean products which
qualify as such in accordance with the rules of
origin in Chapter VIII, Article 15 of the PTA.
III. MODALITIES
5. The Contracting Parties shall implement their
standstill commitments under this Memorandum
from its date of entry into force;
6. The Contracting Parties reiterate their
commitments made on standstill at Punta del
Este. Non-tariff measures which are consistent
with GATT, if introduced, shall not be applied, or
may be applied to a lesser degree, on imports
from the Contracting Parties if they qualify under
the rules of origin in the PTA;
7. The Contracting Parties shall continue with
the unilateral rollback of all measures inconsistent
with GATT. Non-tariff measures which are
consistent with GATT shall be negotiated for
rollback by the Contracting Parties on a preferential basis;
8. The negotiations referred to hi paragraph 7
shall be undertaken by the Trade Preferences
Negotiating Group (TPNG) established by the
Committee on Trade and Tourism (COTT) and
shall commence at the 23rd Meeting of COTT;
9. Negotiations shall be undertaken in any of the
following manners: a product-specific approach
of a barrier specific approach or a sector-specific
approach;
10. Each Contracting Party shall extend all
concessions agreed upon in the negotiating to all
the Contracting Parties on an ASEAN Most-
Favoured Nation (MFN) basis.
IV. SURVEILLANCE
11. The ASEAN Secretariat shall function and
serve as the surveillance body responsible for
monitoring the adherence to the commitments
and obligations of the Contracting Parties under
this Memorandum;
12. The ASEAN Secretariat shall receive all
notifications and reverse notifications on the
suspension and violation of commitments under
this Memorandum and report all such notifications
to COTT to enable consultations and
negotiations to take place between Contracting
Parties at COTT;
13. The ASEAN Secretariat shall report to all the
Contracting Parties on a semi-annual basis and in
a consolidated fashion all developments on the
implementation of this Memorandum.
V. NOTIFICATION PROCEDURES
14. The Contracting Parties shall notify the
ASEAN Secretariat of any imposition of new
non-tariff measures by them and shall also submit
periodically to the said body an updated list of
non-tariff measures maintained by them;
VI. CONSULTATIONS
15. Consultations may be undertaken by the
Contracting Parties in accordance with the
provisions of Chapter VII, Article 14 of the
ASEAN - PTA.
VII. EMERGENCY/SAFEGUARD MEASURES/
DEVELOPMENTAL ASSISTANCE
16. Contracting Parties may suspend provisionally
and without discrimination the application of
their standstill or rollback commitments with
respect to particular product (s) with concurrent
notification to the ASEAN Secretariat if imports
of such product(s) are increasing in such a manner
as to cause or threaten to cause serious injury to
sectors producing like or similar products in the
importing Contracting Parties. The examination
of injury shall include an evaluation of the state
of the industry such as actual and potential
decline in output, sales, market share, profits..
productivity, return on investments or utilization
of capacity.
17. Without prejudice to its international obligations,
a Contracting Party may institute or
intensify quantitative restrictions to forestall the
threat of or to stop a serious decline in monetary
reserves;
18. Where any of the aforecited emergency/
safeguard measures in paragraph 16 and 17 are
taken, concurrent notification of such action
must be given to the ASEAN Secretariat. The
suspension shall be for a period of ninety I days
during which there Shall be consultation and
negotiations among interested-Contracting Parties
with the view to arriving at a satisfactory solution
including compensatory adjustments, if necessary;
19. Without prejudice to the commitment of Contracting
Parties to GATT, protection of deserving
infant industries will be allowed provided that
immediate notification is served to other Contracting
Parties. The duration of protection will
be for a specific period of time with possible
preferential treatment to be negotiated with
affected Contracting Parties.
VIII. GENERAL EXCEPTIONS
20. Exceptions to this Memorandum shall be
allowed for the protection of national security,
public morality, human and plant life, health, and
articles of artistic, historic and archaeological
value as provided for under Article XX of the
GATT.
IX. ENTRY INTO FORCE
21. This Memorandum of Understanding shall
enter into force from the date of its signature and
shall initially apply for a period of five (5) years.
It may be extended by the consensus of all
member states beyond the original five-year
period.
X. FINAL PROVISIONS
22. This Memorandum of Understanding may be
amended by consensus of the Contracting Parties;
23. This Memorandum of Understanding shall be
deposited with the Secretary-General of the
ASEAN Secretariat who shall promptly furnish a
certified copy thereof to each of the Contracting
Parties.
IN WITNESS WHEREOF, the undersigned,
duly authorized Thereto by their respective
Governments, have signed this Agreement.
DONE in Manila, Philippines, this Fifteenth
day of December Nineteen Hundred Eighty
Seven in one original copy in the English
language.