LAOS PREPARED FOR AEC.

At a Lao-Thai border crossing, a driver picks up a card and places it on a red sensor to pay the bridge crossing fee. A second later, the metal barricade rises and allows the vehicle to pass.Within an hour a large number of vehicles have smoothly crossed the border.This recently-introduced service at the first Lao-Thai Friendship Bridge, which carries traffic entering Vientiane from Thailand, has significantly speeded up the immigration process. It is all part

of government efforts to facilitate the passage of people and goods in and out of the country and foster regional and global integration.Over the past seven years, Laos has invested a large amount of funding and effort to improve

infrastructure and legislation in order to be ready for the Asean Economic Community (AEC), which comes into being on December 31. Although Laos has achieved major successes in its preparations for the AEC, the country is not charges on goods in transit. At present, we are still paying these fees,” Mr Saysana said.Laos will push for the implementation of the remaining measures when it assumes the Asean chair next year.As well as opportunities, many businesses view the AEC as a challenge. They say the abolition of import tariffs will have a significant impact on their business as it will result in a flood of comparatively cheap imported goods.A trade official said a Lao brewery has urged the government to postpone the removal of tariffs on imported beer until 2018.

A business operator, Mr Saneu Chounramany, said the elimination of import tariffs would adversely affect motorbike assembly in Laos. He said the government should introduce a low rate of consumption tax on Lao-made goods so they would remain competitive.However, Mr Saneu, who is Vice President of New Chip Xeng,which has exclusive rights through Japan’s Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. to produce and distribute Honda products in the country,

said businesses should adjust themselves so they can accommodate the challenges associated with the AEC.

Businesses should work to improve the quality of their products so they can compete with imported goods, he said.100 percent ready to implement all of its regional trade agreements, which aim to turn the Asean bloc into a single market and production base where goods, investment capital and skilled labour can flow freely.Director General of the Foreign Trade Policy Department, Mr Saysana Sayakone, told Vientiane Times in an exclusive

interview “There are more than 500 measures that all Asean countries have to implement in order to create the Asean Economic Community. Laos has achieved 93.4 percent of these international obligations.”In a landmark regional summit held in 2007, the Asean nations agreed to build the Asean Community based on three pillars: a political community, economic community, and a socio-cultural community. In 2013, the region’s leaders

adopted a resolution to establish the Asean Economic Community in 2015. Mr Saysana said Laos was one of the first countries to implement the required measures. Singapore was the first to do so, thanks to its active open trade policy and good existing infrastructure.“Singapore is ready because it has had an open trade policy in place for several years,” he said. “This country also has sound infrastructure so it is not difficult for it to integrate into

the regional economy.”According to Mr Saysana, one of the measures that Laos would not be ready to implement ahead of the AEC is the Single Window Service, which aims to facilitate the transport of goods within the Asean region.“We are not ready to implement this new measure because we lack experience in this field. We also have a shortage of human resources to carry out this work,” he said, adding that all of the newer Asean member countries have the same problem.Another area where Asean countries will fall short is not being able to enforce an international agreement on goods in transit, which aims to eliminate the services charged by individual states on goods.“Under the agreement, Asean countries should not imposecharges on goods in transit. At present, we are still paying these fees,” Mr Saysana said.Laos will push for the implementation of the remaining measures when it assumes the Asean chair next year. As well as opportunities, many businesses view the AEC as a challenge. They say the abolition of import tariffs will have a significant impact on their business as it will result in a flood

of comparatively cheap imported goods.A trade official said a Lao brewery has urged the government to postpone the removal of tariffs on imported beer until 2018. A business operator, Mr Saneu Chounramany, said theelimination of import tariffs would adversely affect motorbike assembly in Laos. He said the government should introduce alow rate of consumption tax on Lao-made goods so they would remain competitive.However, Mr Saneu, who is Vice President of New Chip Xeng,which has exclusive rights through Japan’s Honda Motor Co.,Ltd. to produce and distribute Honda products in the country,said businesses should adjust themselves so they can accommodate the challenges associated with the AEC.Businesses should work to improve the quality of their

products so they can compete with imported goods, he said.