Promotion of ASEAN economic agreements

THE PROJECT

Background

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations was established in 1967 and has currently ten members (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam).

In 2008 and 2009, ASEAN undertook broader reforms which sought to strengthen the economic relationships amongst ASEAN Member States and established ASEAN as a single market and production base. Three major trade agreements were put in place. First, the new ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) would ensure that, in the coming years, trade in goods amongst ASEAN economies will become more facilitated and be free of border tariffs. Second, under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), packages of deep liberalisation would be undertaken to create an environment that favours increased integration of the supply of services across ASEAN. Third, the new ASEAN Comprehensive Investment Agreement (ACIA) provides ASEAN and non-ASEAN investors with enhanced liberalisation of investment conditions, better investment protection and cooperation in investment promotion.

Overall goal and content

The overall goal of the project was to create awareness within the business community inside and outside ASEAN Member States on how they can benefit from the various initiatives concerning trade, investment and services.

To this end, the project elaborated an interactive DVD to promote the opportunities for doing business in the ASEAN region, in particular, related to the three key agreements ATIGA, AFAS, and ACIA. Furthermore, it helped to initiate a regular business dialogue to put ASEAN on the agenda of all active businesses in the region.

The interactive-DVD titled “Building an ASEAN Economic Community Together – Trade and Investment Made Simple” informs ASEAN businesses about the many new business opportunities opening to them across the ASEAN region. The target group of the DVD is the business community in the Member States. The DVD is also useful to those who want to understand the three trade agreements.

The DVD covers the following key topics for all three agreements, as well as additional topics considered of high importance:

• Overview or background of trade in goods, trade in services and investment in the ASEAN region.
• News and opportunities arising from the agreements (ATIGA, ACIA, AFAS);
• Benefits of the agreements for ASEAN Member States and their economies;
• Success stories related to ASEAN achievements in the past;
• Texts of the agreements and information sources;
• List of trade and investment contacts in ASEAN.

Project partners

The DVD “Building an ASEAN Economic Community Together – Trade and Investment Made Simple” was produced with the support of the project “Capacity Building for the ASEAN Secretariat”, a partnership between the ASEAN Secretariat and the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), which is funded by the German Federal Foreign Office.