
BANGKOK -- Thailand's automobile industry has welcomed a landmark accord by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations that skirts testing regulations imposed by some importing nations, a move seen to benefit the largest automaking country in the region.
The new accord -- known as the ASEAN Mutual Recognition Arrangement -- reached by economic ministers at a virtual meeting chaired by Vietnam last month allows cars that have been tested and certified by the production country to enter other member states without having to undergo another round of testing.