Policy Brief No.2015-02. October 2015, Non-Tariff Measures: Not All that Bad by Oliver Cadot and Lili Yan Ing, is published by Economic Research Institutes for ASEAN and East Asia.
 

While tariffs have been reduced, the number of non-tariff measures (NTMs) is increasing, and is often blamed to be one source of the lack of integration in ASEAN. Yet, the discovery of Volkswagen’s large-scale attempt to seemingly go around US emissions tests serves as a reminder of a stark truth. NTMs can play a role of check and balance for the quality of goods. To make NTMs work for the common good, ASEAN should break from the ‘trade negotiation’ approach and strive instead for three objectives: (1) a drive for transparency, (2) cooperation in conformity assessment procedures, and (3) dynamic disciplines. Such ‘dynamic deep integration’ would largely eliminate the high-visibility political friction, poorly designed—or those captured by special interests— NTMs.

Source: Oliver Cadot and Lili Yan Ing, Non-Tariff Measures: Not All that Bad, Policy Brief No.2015-02, Economic Research Institutes for ASEAN and East Asia, October 2015.