On the morning of 26 August 2026, at the Souphattra Hotel in Vientiane Capital, the Secretariat Office of the National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee (NTTFC Secretariat Office) convened a meeting on the "Impact Assessment of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs)". The meeting was chaired by Mrs. Kingsadone Phetdaoheuang, Director General of the Department of Foreign Trade, Ministry of Industry and Commerce, who concurrently serves as the Head of the National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee (NTTFC) Permanent Office at the central level. The meeting was attended by directors of departments and divisions, together with technical officials representing the relevant departments and agencies.
The meeting was aimed at building a common understanding among the public sector agencies responsible for researching, drafting and revising trade-related legal instruments, with regard to the definition and the importance of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), the methodology for compiling and classifying such measures and, most importantly, the assessment of the impact of NTMs in accordance with the Instruction issued, so as to ensure a consistent and uniform approach. The Lao PDR has taken a further step forward in its trade facilitation agenda following the issuance by the National Trade and Transport Facilitation Committee of Instruction No. 005/NTTFC, dated 08 April 2026, on the Impact Assessment of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs). The Instruction was issued after the Government had promulgated Notification No. 396/PMO, dated 30 March 2026, endorsing the said Instruction.
In her overview report, the Chairperson of the meeting noted that, in the current era of connectivity and integration and of trade liberalisation, import tariff rates in many countries have been reduced substantially, particularly under the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA), where import tariff rates of 0–5% cover approximately 99% of all product lines. As a result, many countries have increasingly turned to the use of NTMs, invoking grounds such as the protection of plant, human and animal health, consumer safety and environmental protection. In certain cases, however, where such measures go beyond what is necessary, they become non-tariff barriers (NTBs) that are inconsistent with the obligations of the Lao PDR under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and ASEAN.
The meeting was briefed on the overall situation and on the definition and importance of the classification and impact assessment of NTMs. It further included group discussions and a practical exercise in completing the actual assessment form, using as examples both draft legal instruments currently under revision and legal instruments already adopted. This enabled the participants to carry out an assessment in practice, thereby strengthening their understanding and ensuring that the content is more concise and clearer, particularly with respect to the impact assessment of Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs).
At the close of the meeting, the Chairperson summarised three main outcomes as follows: (1) the meeting reached a high degree of consensus on the report on the implementation of NTM-related work in the Lao PDR over the past decade; (2) impact assessment under Instruction No. 005/NTTFC constitutes a new area of work and must therefore be piloted while lessons are drawn in parallel, with the initial phase focusing on the legal instruments of the Ministry of Industry and Commerce and remaining open for other sectors to apply, with the Secretariat standing ready to provide assistance and guidance; and (3) the relevant sectors were called upon to continue rolling out the impact assessment of NTMs in accordance with the National Trade and Transport Facilitation Action Plan 2025–2030.
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