2021 has witnessed various developments related to trade law across Southeast Asia. In this publication, we provide a snapshot of these developments by discussing key highlights on trade related topics in 2021, such as regulatory activity relating to anti-dumping and safeguard measures, developments relating to export/import, free trade agreements, as well as sanctions. Amongst others, our highlights touch on Myanmar’s introduction of a new Safeguard on Increased Imports Law as well as Malaysia’s and Vietnam’s regulatory activity in anti-dumping and safeguards; Thailand’s implementation of catch-all controls to block exports of dual-use goods involving proliferation of weapons of mass destruction; the developments relating to controlled goods such as in the Philippines for wood products and Singapore for lead paint; Cambodia’s new Law on Investment and its impact on duties involving prescribed investment sectors/activities; as well as developments in free trade agreements in the region such as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and Indonesia’s Indonesia-European Free Trade Association Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.
As things gear up in 2022, we remind businesses to keep abreast of legislative and enforcement updates on trade-related topics, which do not always involve only pure law but also involve very practical know-how aspects such as working with the regulators, and to always place a healthy emphasis on your internal trade processes – from the classification of your products to the determination of rules of origin to the securing of the necessary permits for import/export of controlled goods or strategic goods. This is critical not only to ensure continued compliance with the law, which is always developing, but also to catch existing areas of non-compliance.
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