Josemaria Philip S.C.

Villanueva
III-EMC2
ASEAN is an acronym that stands for Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Some of
the countries that comprise of the ASEAN include the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
Basically the goal of the Economic Integration is to create a single market and production base
among the ten countries, to produce a region of equitable economic development, to become a
highly competitive economic region, and to become a region that is fully integrated into the
global economy. The ASEAN Economic Community, also known as the AEC, has been
represented by a set of pillars for the creation of the single market and production base which
will then, in turn, increase competitiveness and the like. It is beneficial for the free flow of goods,
investments, capital, services, and laborers that may be exchanged between the countries.
Considering that these may be very beneficial, it would further harm and make the entry barriers
into the competition high due to several competitors and a shift in the prices of the products.
In terms of regional economic integration, and the building of an ASEAN Economic
Community, the association has removed, at least on paper, customs duties on most intraASEAN trade. It has already formatted the groundwork of regional economic integration by
restating the pledges of its members to remove Non-Tariff Barriers to intra-ASEAN trade. The
members within the ASEAN have formally reproduced a Customs Code of Conduct, the ASEAN
Harmonized Tariff Nomenclatures, the national and regional Single Window systems, and the
WTOs mode of customs valuation. They have concluded framework agreements on the
liberalization of trade in services, investments, goods-in-transit, multi-modal and interstate
transport, and information and communication technology. They have agreed in a Mutual
Recognition Agreement or their equivalent for three types of goods and seven professions, as
well as concluded a framework agreement on MRAs. The MRAs that would be covering trade
goods would avoid the possibilities of duplication in the testing of the products at both the
exporting and importing ends. Those pertaining to services on the other hand usually provide for
the mutual recognition of professional credentials. Although most of these agreements are shot
through with loopholes under the general cover of flexibility, some of them have not been
ratified by all ASEAN states, they do manifest ASEANs recognition of the desirability of regional
economic integration and each member states commitment to it
According to asean.org, credit to the gradual and incremental integration that the ten
countries have been facing, there is a much greater regional stability and that there is an
economic recovery in the industrial countries. A growth in GDP will now be expected along with
a continuing high growth performance. Exports are expected to grow higher and inflation are
forecasted to remain at a moderate level. Along with this, Foreign Direct Investments are meant
to increase at the same time. Once the integration has been established this coming December,
the GDP of the Philippines would now receive an increase in its rate, along with a paralleling
increase in global growth upon the completion of the integration.
Sources:
http://adb.org/sites/default/files/pub/2013/aec-work-progress.pdf
http://www.econjournals.com/index.php/ijefi/article/download/484/pdf
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/who-will-benefit-from-the-asean-economic-community/
http://thediplomat.com/2015/05/the-asean-economic-community-a-work-in-progress/
http://www.asean.org/communities/asean-economic-community/item/asean-macroeconomicpicture