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EU trade policy

The negotiations for a regional FTA represent a key component of both the global and regional economic integration strategies of both the EU and ASEAN. A distinct feature of these negotiations is the region-to-region approach. In this context, the current report addresses some questions:

• what will be the effect of the FTA on economic development in Southeast Asia?
• how will the proposed agreement affect the asymmetries within the region?
• will it help address the development gaps that exist within the region?

In particular, the paper focuses on three ASEAN member countries (Indonesia, Philippines and Thailand), providing with detailed information on the extent of EU relations with them.

The paper deems that whether or not the EU will make good its threat to go bilateral with ASEAN is something that should be closely monitored especially in the wake of ASEAN’s own assertions of regional unity. However, the paper thinks that ASEAN should concentrate its efforts into establishing an ASEAN Community by 2015, instead of pursuing bilateral free trade initiatives.

The paper highlights some of the key concerns and recommendations related to the ASEAN-EU FTA (AEUFTA) as follows:

• the importance to incorporate some of the development perspectives of the EU and ASEAN
• Special Products /Special Safeguard Mechanism (SP/SSM) should be justified
• the EU must expand its Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) schemes to ensure greater market access facilitation of products coming from ASEAN
• the EU needs to clarify its policies on market access and subsidy
• the EU must clarify whether the AEUFTA aims to encourage the development of manufacturing industries in South Asia or not
• AEUFTA needs to ensure concrete foreign investment from both sides
• the importance of civil society and marginal sector in the AEUFTA policy-making process

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