Trade facilitation is strategically important for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) since the region has established itself as a central hub of global trade, where the efficiency of customs and border procedures directly shapes competitiveness and integration into global value chains. ASEAN members have already demonstrated the benefits of trade facilitation reforms, with estimates showing a reduction in trade costs of around 6% in the Asia-Pacific region, and further reforms hold the potential to deepen these gains (OECD, 2025[1]). The continued implementation of the WTO Trade Facilitation Agreement (TFA) provides both the framework and momentum for ASEAN to harmonise and modernise border processes, strengthen supply chain resilience, support more competitive, safe and integrated markets, and reinforce its role as a driver of global trade flows.
Trade facilitation is a core component of ASEAN’s economic integration agenda, playing a key role in realising the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and strengthening regional supply chain connectivity. In this context, ASEAN Members States (AMS) have implemented significant efforts to improve the trade facilitation policy environment in the region, including through initiatives such as the ASEAN Harmonised Tariff Nomenclature (AHTN), ASEAN Tariff Finder, ASEAN Customs Transit System (ACTS), the ASEAN Single Window (ASW) and the electronic exchanges of key trade-related documents (e.g., e-Form D, ASEAN Customs Declarations Documents, e-Phyto), as well as the ASEAN Authorised Economic Operators (AEOs) Mutual Recognition Arrangement (AAMRA).
Drawing on the OECD Trade Facilitation Indicators (TFIs) (for further details on the indicators, see Annex A), this report assesses the efforts made to expedite the movement, release, and clearance of goods in the ASEAN region in recent years.1 This first report using the TFIs for ASEAN, building on the close co-operation with the ASEAN Secretariat Trade Facilitation Division and the ASEAN Trade Facilitation Joint Consultative Committee (ATF-JCC), aims to offer the basis to assess progress on trade facilitation and provide actionable insights for reform in AMS.
The next chapter provides an overview of the frameworks and strategic plans governing the policy architecture for trade facilitation in the region. Chapter 3 provides the key trends on trade facilitation in AMS through the lens of the latest TFIs. Chapter 4 then explores in more detail the policy measures driving progress in areas of transparency and predictability, border formalities, and border agency co-operation, as well as relevant areas of action. Chapter 5 concludes.