The ‘Association of Southeast Asian Nations - ASEAN’ harmonizes internal regulatory
frameworks with international standards following the goal of removing technical barriers to trade. As
such, on January 1, 2008, the ASEAN Cosmetic Directive (ACD) was anticipated to be implemented in
the 10 ASEAN member states. The article of Dr. A. Struessmann describes the ASEAN Harmonized
Cosmetic Regulatory Scheme (AHCRS) with its two implementation phases for the new cosmetic
legislation, which in consequence meant a change in regulatory dogma from pre-market approval to
post market surveillance. It explains the basic principles of the ACD as laid down in various Articles
and Technical Documents and shows the similarities to the EU Cosmetic Directive 76/768/EEC, as
well as specific ASEAN addendums. The governmental bodies and the cosmetics association involved
in the ACD implementation are sketched and in detail is depicted the actual implementation status at
the competent authorities of the various member states. Country specific as well as general hurdles for
implementation are mentioned and measures for counteracting these.