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(Bangkok) Against a backdrop of robust economic growth in Thailand, a major delegation of U.S. companies organized by the US-ASEAN Business Council concluded a 3-day Business Mission to Bangkok today. Delegates from 22 leading U.S. companies met with a range of government officials, concluding Friday afternoon with a productive discussion with Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva. The mission was co-led by Council Vice-President Marc Mealy and Laura Hudson of Chevron, Chair of the Council's Thailand Committee.

(Hanoi) Potential partnerships between the government of Vietnam and major U.S. Companies to improve and expand Vietnam's infrastructure were a major theme of discussion this week between a US-ASEAN Business Council delegation and Vietnamese government ministers. The Council's visit marked a continuation of discussion begun during Prime Minister Dung's April visit to the U.S.The delegation of senior executives from 22 leading firms was co-led by Council President Alexander Feldman, Stuart Dean of General Electric, Chairman of the Council's Vietnam Committee, and Kathryn McGill of ConocoPhillips, Vice Chairman of the Council's Vietnam Committee.

(Seattle) A delegation including Trade Ministers from 5 Southeast Asian nations began a week-long visit to the United States today. At the invitation of the US-ASEAN Business Council and the United States Trade Representative the delegation will visit Seattle and Washington D.C. to promote Southeast Asia’s growing importance at the crossroads of global trade and investment and the focal point of developing regional architecture in Southeast Asia. By 2015, the 10 nations of ASEAN [The Association of Southeast Asian Nations] aim to establish a European-Union style single market economic community welding these 10 countries together into a single economy of nearly 600 million consumers with a collective GDP that will have surpassed $1.5 trillion dollars. The delegation will seek to showcase opportunities for American business both large and small in the growing markets of Southeast Asia.

(Jakarta) The US-ASEAN Business Council applauds the launch today of Indonesia's “National Single Window”, a program that will streamline the nation’s customs process and dramatically reduce the time it takes for containers to clear customs.

A container currently arriving in Indonesia generally requires between five and six days to be cleared by Indonesian customs. The new rules will reduce this time to potentially a matter of hours by creating a “one point, one time” system for data submission and reducing the number of steps needed for customs clearance.

“This new program will insure goods reach Indonesian businesses and consumers more efficiently,” says US-ASEAN Business Council President Alex Feldman. “Better customs processes will increase trade and create jobs on both sides of the Pacific.”