Stakeholder Debrief Report – 13^th ASEAN-Canada Free Trade Agreement Trade Negotiating Committee meeting

May 7-8, 2025 (virtual)

Canada hosted the 13^th Trade Negotiating Committee (TNC) and Related Meetings of the ASEAN - Canada Free Trade Agreement (ACAFTA) negotiations, which took place virtually on May 7^th and 8^th, 2025, through two three-hour sessions.

The 13^th ACAFTA TNC was co-led by Canada’s Chief Negotiator (CN) and TNC Co-Chair, Mary-Catherine Speirs, Director General, Trade Negotiations Bureau (Global Affairs Canada) and ASEAN’s TNC Co-Chair, Dina Kurniasari, Director of World Trade Organization Negotiations, Ministry of Trade of the Republic of Indonesia.

Reports from the following 10 Subsidiary Bodies (SBs) were presented to the TNC:

1. Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation
2. E-Commerce
3. Financial Services
4. Intellectual Property
5. Investment
6. Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises
7. Telecommunications
8. Trade in Services
9. Rules of Origin
10. Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures

Key takeaways from the 13^th TNC:

• Canada and ASEAN reiterated their shared commitment to concluding the ACAFTA negotiations as soon as possible.
• The TNC acknowledged the significant progress in the negotiations over the past three TNC meetings and noted the positive reports from the Subsidiary Bodies.
• The TNC provided general and specific guidance to all reporting Subsidiary Bodies to help advance their negotiations toward timely conclusion.
• The TNC agreed to set objectives to be achieved by September (for the annual ASEAN Economic Ministers’ meeting) to demonstrate significant progress to ministers. ASEAN provided an update on the use of the ASEAN-Canada Plan of Action Trust Fund to support the participation of Least Developed Country members of ASEAN in negotiating rounds. ASEAN also delivered an update on its use of the Expert Deployment Mechanism (EDM) for capacity building in multiple areas of the negotiations.
• The 14th ACAFTA TNC Meeting will take place in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from July 7–11, 2025.

Key developments from the Subsidiary Bodies:

The TNC agreed to target the conclusion of several chapters over the course of the next two meetings (July and September), including Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation and Telecommunications, for which SBs reported good progress.

Discussions at the Rules of Origin table were positive, allowing for substantial discussion on key issues and closing of a few articles. Significant gaps remain on origin procedures, including certification and verification of origin, and more attention will be needed to find mutually-acceptable outcomes. While some progress was made at the Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures table, some important differences remain, including on enforceability.

The Trade in Services table marked significant progress with the closure of the Professional Services Annex. Negotiations on a stand-alone Financial Services chapter are now well underway. While the investment table reported some progress, significant gaps remain, which will require more time and attention to find mutually-acceptable outcomes. Negotiations on electronic commerce continue to advance.

The Working Group on Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises made significant progress in their negotiations. The Working Group on Intellectual Property held extensive fruitful discussions across key areas of the chapter, including on enforcement.    

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If you would like to comment on any of Global Affairs Canada's trade, investment or innovation programs, policies or services, please contact us at:

Trade Negotiations Bureau (TCD)
Global Affairs Canada
Lester B. Pearson Building
125 Sussex Drive, Ottawa, ON K1A 0G2
Fax: 613-944-0757
Email: consultations@international.gc.ca