Launched in 2015 to implement the ASEAN Consultations on Trade and Investment (ACT) process under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), ASSIST is a non-binding advisory mechanism to expedite the resolution of implementation issues faced by ASEAN businesses in relation to the implementation of ASEAN economic agreements. ASSIST is entirely internet-based and free of charge.

Key issues that can be addressed through the ASSIST mechanism include: (i) Tariff and non-tariff measures affecting intra-ASEAN trade in goods, (ii) Issues in the area of cross-border services, and (iii) Measures limiting investment in various sectors of ASEAN integration.

The main actors of ASSIST are:

ASEAN Enterprise (AE): This is the ASEAN-based enterprise (or ASEAN-based association, chamber of commerce, business council, business federation or registered lawyer or law firm representing an enterprise) that raises an issue, query or complaint through ASSIST. It must be registered (i.e., business registration license) in one of the ten ASEAN Member States;

The Central Administrator (CA): The ASEAN Secretariat is the Central Administrator of ASSIST and, in that capacity, manages the online proceedings. All communications among the key actors in ASSIST must go through the Central Administrator;

Home Contact Point (HCP): The national body (i.e., Focal Point) in the ASEAN Member State of the complaining ASEAN Enterprise (or where the parent company is based in certain Trade in Services cases). This ministry, agency or governmental authority may intervene, if need be, to hold discussions with the Central Administrator and/or the Destination Contact Point;

Destination Contact Point (DCP): The national body (i.e., Focal Point) in the ASEAN Member State where the issue is raised and the ASEAN Enterprise is facing trade problems. This ministry, agency or governmental authority will decide whether it wants to engage within ASSIST to offer the ASEAN Enterprise a solution, will coordinate with its national competent authorities, and it will manage all communications with the Central Administrator of ASSIST; and

Responsible Agencies (RAs): The agency(ies) or other government representative(s) that are tasked with finding a solution to the issue. They are the competent authorities in the ASEAN Member State where the issue is raised and where the ASEAN Enterprise is facing trade problems. They will suggest a possible solution to the ASEAN Enterprise through their Destination Contact Point and thereto the Central Administrator.

According to statistics from the ASEAN Secretariat, so far, with the support from the ARISE Plus project in building the ASSIST platform, in the period 2015 - 2023, 26 cases have been posted to this mechanism to seek solutions from ASEAN governments (an average of 2.8 cases/year). Based on the statistics, ASEAN countries all share the view that this number is still low, meaning that this mechanism has not been interested in and utilized by the private sector, thus, it has not achieved its original goal of becoming a leading ASEAN tool in facilitating trade in the region.

In that context, within the framework of the ASEAN Trade Facilitation Consultative Committee (ATF-JCC), ASEAN countries are discussing ways to improve this mechanism in a more user-friendly manner to encourage the private sector to take advantage of this mechanism to address implementation issues encountered in the implementation of ASEAN economic agreements. The discussion focused on solutions to overcome the limitations in the use of the ASSIST mechanism in the past, such as: the response time has not met the needs of businesses, there is not much interaction between the complainant and the respondent, the dissemination of information about this mechanism to businesses has not been done regularly...

At the 30th ATF-JCC Meeting held from October 22 to 24, 2024 in Jakarta, Indonesia, ASEAN Member States agreed to increase the dissemination of this mechanism to their business communities, and will continue to discuss this agenda at upcoming meetings taking place in 2025.