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(Singapore) – Yesterday, the US-ASEAN Business Council joined a virtual discussion of the 30th Meeting of the ASEAN Directors-General of Customs. The meeting was part of 24-year long engagement between the Council and the 10 ASEAN Directors-General of Customs that has examined ways to improve trade connections in Southeast Asia. The Council’s delegation of eight leading U.S. companies was led by Senior Vice-President and Regional Managing Director of the Council, Ambassador Michael Michalak, as well as Chair of the Council’s Customs and Trade Facilitation Committee and Vice President of Public Affairs and Sustainability for UPS Asia Pacific, Shiumei Lin.
The purpose of the US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) is to explore avenues of mutual interest and cooperation in public policy and to promote awareness of the contributions and commitments that are made by U.S. industry, in manufacturing, production, marketing, and related industries, to the private and public sectors of ASEAN countries.
While participating in all US-ABC in-person meetings, webinars, teleconferences, or side discussions, member company representatives and Council staff should avoid discussing competitively sensitive information with competitors and follow these guidelines:
Do not discuss specific prices for services or products, market share or market allocation.
Do not speak on behalf of the US-ABC or any of its committees unless specifically authorized to do so.
Do leave a meeting where any anti-competitive pricing or market allocation discussion occurs and ensure that your departure is noted in the meeting minutes.
The US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) commends President Joe Biden for signing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act into law.
The US-ASEAN Business Council (US-ABC) shares the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of getting as many safe and effective COVID-19 vaccines into the arms of people around the world as fast as possible. U.S. leadership is needed to leverage rapidly increasing domestic vaccine production, export more of our vaccine surplus to nations in need, and help developing markets overcome the massive technical and logistical barriers to manufacture the vaccine safely, securely, and successfully.
The U.S. private sector is committed to supporting the growth and development of Myanmar’s democracy and civil society. Since the country’s political transition in 2012, the US-ASEAN Business Council and its member companies have supported efforts to develop Myanmar’s institutional, legal, and policy frameworks to promote an inclusive and sustainable economy. However, the February 1 military coup threatens to reverse the political and economic progress made, as well as the country’s future trajectory.
The US-ASEAN Business Council commends the United States Senate on passing the COVID-19 Hate Crimes Act on a bipartisan vote. Introduced by Senator Mazie Hirono of Hawaii, the bill aims to combat the recent surge of violence and harassment towards Asians and Asian-Americans, which the Council strongly condemns, by directing the Department of Justice (DOJ) to expedite the review of COVID-19 hate crimes.
The US-ASEAN Business Council commends the House of Representatives on passing the Southeast Asia Strategy Act. The bill directs the State Department to develop a comprehensive strategy for engaging ASEAN across multiple dimensions, from trade and investment flows to diplomatic and security arrangements. Representative Joaquin Castro and Representative Ann Wagner, the co-chairs and co-founders of the Congressional Caucus on ASEAN, authored the measure.
On April 16, the U.S. Treasury Department determined in its semiannual Report on Macroeconomic and Foreign Exchange Policies of Major Trading Partners of the United States that there is insufficient evidence to label Vietnam as a currency manipulator. In this Report, Treasury reviewed and assessed the policies of 20 major U.S. trading partners during the four quarters through December 2020.