ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) · Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN...

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ASEAN Economic Community(AEC)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on 8 August 1967. The Member States are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia,Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Viet Nam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia.

For inquiries, contact:The ASEAN SecretariatCommunity Relations Division (CRD)70A Jalan SisingamangarajaJakarta 12110, IndonesiaPhone: (62 21) 724-3372, 726-2991Fax: (62 21) 739-8234, 724-3504E-mail: [email protected]

ASEAN: A Community of Opportunities

Catalogue-in-Publication Data

Fact Sheet of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)Jakarta, ASEAN Secretariat, May 2017

337.09591. Trade – Investment – Finance2. ASEAN – Economic Community

ISBN 978-602-6392-36-7

The text of this publication may be freely quoted or reprinted, provided proper acknowledgement is givenand a copy containing the reprinted material is sent to the Community Relations Division (CRD) of the ASEAN Secretariat, Jakarta.

Photo credits: ASEAN Secretariat.

General information on ASEAN appears online at the ASEAN Website: www.asean.org

4 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)

Goods Agreement and other ASEAN +1 FreeTrade Agreements.

Effective implementation of AEC Blueprint 2025requires key reference for institutionalisingmonitoring and evaluation mechanisms acrossAEC sectors. To this end, the AEC 2025Monitoring and Evaluation Framework was

endorsed by the ASEAN Economic Communityand the AEC Council in August and September2016, respectively. This framework enhances theprevious mechanism, by going beyondcompliance monitoring to also cover the outcomesmonitoring and impact evaluation of regionaleconomic integration.

The formal establishment of the ASEAN EconomicCommunity (AEC), as part of the ASEANCommunity, on 31 December 2015, marks animportant milestone in ASEAN economicintegration agenda. This was preceded byimplementation of measures in the first AECBlueprint (2008-2015), with the following keyachievements:• More open market, with intra-regional tariffs

virtually eliminated and formal restrictions inservices sector gradually removed;

• Reduced trade costs through simplificationof cross-border trading processes, includingon customs procedures and rules of origin,harmonisation of technical regulations andmutual recognition arrangements;

• More attractive investment regime, and amore business-friendly and innovation-supportive environment through the adoption

(APSC) Blueprint 2025 and the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community (ASCC) Blueprint 2025, theAEC Blueprint 2025 forms part of ASEAN 2025:Forging Ahead Together.

Under the new Blueprint, a stronger AEC isenvisaged by 2025 with the followingcharacteristics:(a) A Highly Integrated and Cohesive Economy;(b) A Competitive, Innovative, and Dynamic

ASEAN;(c) Enhanced Connectivity and Sectoral

Cooperation;(d) A Resilient, Inclusive and People-Oriented,

People-Centred ASEAN; and(e) A Global ASEAN

The AEC Blueprint 2025 sets higher ambitionthrough the deepening of existing integrationareas, and incorporation of new focus areas suchas Global Value Chains (GVCs), good regulatorypractice, sustainable development, globalmegatrends and emerging trade-related issues.

At the time of its establishment, the AEC took formof a large market with a combined GDP over US$2.4 trillion, which collectively put the region as the6th largest economy in the world. With a totalpopulation of almost 630 million people, ASEANis the world’s 3rd most populous market, behindonly China and India.

In 2016, efforts have been focused on putting inplace the fundamentals for effectiveoperationalisation of the AEC Blueprint 2025through the adoption of various AEC sectoral work

ASEAN Economic Community 2025

A Highly Integrated &Cohesive Economy

Trade in Goods

Trade in Services

Investment Environment

Financial Integration,Financial Inclusion, andFinancial StabilityFacilitating Movement ofSkilled Labour & BusinessVisitors

Enhancing Participation inGVCs

A Competitive, Innovative &Dynamic ASEAN

Effective Competition Policy

Consumer Protection

Strengthening IPR Cooperation

Productivity-Driven Growth,Innovation, R&D, TechnologyCommercialisationTaxation Cooperation

Good Governance

Effective, Efficient, Coherentand Responsive Regulations,and GRPSustainable EconomicDevelopmentGlobal Megatrends andEmerging Trade-related Issues

EnhancedConnectivity &SectoralCooperation

Transport

E-commerce

Energy

Food, Agriculture,and Forestry

Tourism

Healthcare

Minerals

Science&Technology

A Resilient, Inclusive,People-Oriented &People-Centred ASEAN

Strengthening the Roleof MSMEs

Strengthening the Roleof the Private Sector

Public-PrivatePartnership

Narrowing theDevelopment Gap

Contribution ofStakeholders onRegional IntegrationEfforts

A Global ASEAN

Strategic approachtowards externaleconomic relationsReview and improveexisting ASEAN FTAsand CEPsEnhance economicpartnerships with non-FTA DPsEngage with regionaland global partners

Support to themultilateral tradingsystem

Engagements withregional and globalinstitutions

3ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)

of common frameworks, standards andmutual cooperation in various areas; and

• Better connectivity in transportation and otherinfrastructure networks.

However, community building is not a static endgoal but rather a dynamic process that requirescontinuous reinvention of the region to seekdeeper and broader integration as well as ensureits continued relevance in an evolving globaleconomy.

The AEC Blueprint 2025, adopted by the ASEANLeaders at the 27th ASEAN Summit in KualaLumpur, Malaysia, provides broad directionsthrough strategic measures to guide the nextphase of ASEAN economic integration from 2016to 2025. Along with the ASEAN Community Vision2025, the ASEAN Political-Security Community

plans. In parallel, continued progress was madeon completing the remaining AEC 2015 measuresas well as initiating the implementation of newmeasures under the AEC Blueprint 2025.

In its inaugural year of the AEC, and under thechairmanship of Lao PDR, the 48th ASEANEconomic Ministers’ (AEM) Meeting adopted thefollowing priority deliverables:

1) The ASEAN Trade Facilitation Framework;2) The ASEAN Food Safety Regulatory

Framework;3) The ASEAN Institutional Framework on

Access to Finance for MSME;4) The Report and Work Programme on Starting

a Business in ASEAN; and5) The ASEAN Guidelines for Special Economic

Zones Development & Collaboration.

The Pakse Declaration on ASEAN Roadmap forStrategic Development of Ecotourism Clustersand Corridors was likewise adopted by the ASEANTourism Ministers, while good progress was alsomade in the work on the ASEAN SustainableTourism Award.

The ASEAN Solutions for Investments, Servicesand Trade (ASSIST), which is aimed at deliveringpractical solutions to help businesses addresstheir concerns and difficulties while doing businessin the region (http://assist.asean.org) is now fullyoperational; while ASEAN Tariff Finder website(http://tariff-finder.asean.org/) has been launched,providing a cost-free search engine for tariff-related information under the ASEAN Trade in

ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)