Title: The ASEAN free trade agreement
Description: This paper examines (1) the transformations in the international economy that led to the      ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian Nations) Free Trade Agreement and (2) the factors      working in favor and against the agreement's implementation. The underlying motivation for      AFTA is examined in terms of being a reaction to the rise of the European Community and      the North American Free Trade Agreement, which led to fears of reduced foreign investment,      trade diversion, diminished bargaining power in negotiations, and lower international      competitiveness. The implementation of AFTA is discussed as being constrained by a lumber      of factors, including regional security tensions, product exclusions, long lead time, uneven      levels of development, insufficient coordination of external policy, as well as lack of treatment      of NTBs, subsidies and government procurement practices.
Subjects: INTERNATIONAL TRADE, ECONOMIC IMPACT