The final round of the negotiation of ASEAN Framework Agreement on Competition (AFAC) was held in hybrid format held from 13-14 June 2024 in Manila, Philippines.
The Meeting was held in plenary and attended by all ASEAN Member States (AMS), and the ASEAN Secretariat. The Meeting was chaired by Ms. Lolibeth Ramit-Medrano, Commissioner of the Philippine Competition Commission (PCC), Chair of the AFAC Negotiation.
The meeting agreed on the text for the AFAC and considered the text of the AFAC as concluded after deliberation on the outstanding draft text under Article 1 “Definition”, Article 4 “Appropriate Measures Against Anti-Competitive Activities”, Article 11 “Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises”, Article 12 “Consultation” and Article 13 “Final Provisions”.
The Meeting agreed on the proposed timeline post-negotiation, which includes the legal scrubbing process by ASEC Legal Team and domestically by each AMS, and the obtaining of Instruments of Full Powers. The Meeting further agreed to target the signing of the AFAC at the AEM in May 2025 in Malaysia.
The Meeting agreed to conduct domestic consultation to explore “EIF upon/[x] days after notification of completion of internal procedures or deposit of Instruments of Ratification, Approval, or Acceptance by all AMS”.