Singapore’s Bilateral Agreements with Laos
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ASEAN – Australia – New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA)
The AANZFTA eliminates tariffs for 90% of the goods traded between ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand and covers 100% of Singapore’s trade volume with Australia and New Zealand.
It is also ASEAN’s most comprehensive ASEAN-Plus FTA to date, encompassing areas such as intellectual property, competition, and electronic commerce.
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ASEAN – China Free Trade Area (ACFTA)
The ACFTA eliminates tariffs for 94.6% of exports to China that originate from Singapore, safeguards market access and ensures a more predictable operating environment for service suppliers.
It expands market access and improves foreign equity threshold in six of China’s services sectors. The agreement also provides investors and investments with protection by establishing a more transparent, facilitative and secure environment for investors.
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ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA)
The AFTA covers trade in goods, investment, and services.
Laos is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). The AFTA is part of the Asian Economic Community agreement among the 10 ASEAN countries, including Singapore, and includes the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, which eliminates tariffs for almost all goods and services. -
ASEAN – Hong Kong, China Free Trade Area (AHKFTA)
The AHKFTA reduces technical barriers to trade between ASEAN and Hong Kong.
It increases market access in the architectural, engineering, education and environmental services industries.
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ASEAN – India Free Trade Area (AIFTA)
The AIFTA eliminates tariffs for 75% of goods traded between ASEAN and India.
As a member state of ASEAN, Singapore is part of the ASEAN Free Trade Area. For a further 10% of product lines, the AIFTA commits parties to reduce tariffs below 5%.
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ASEAN – Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership (AJCEP)
The AJCEP covers trade in goods, trade in services, investment, and economic cooperation.
It eliminates tariffs for 84.5% of all tariff lines for Singapore’s originating exports to Japan.
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ASEAN – Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA)
The AKFTA eliminates tariffs for 80% of the goods traded between ASEAN and Korea.
It safeguards market access and ensures a more predictable operating environment for service suppliers by creating a more transparent, facilitative, and secure environment for investors.
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Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP)
The RCEP Agreement builds on existing bilateral agreements that ASEAN has with its free trade partners.
It is the world’s largest FTA, comprising about 30% of global GDP and about a third of the world’s population.
