This timely volume reviews the rapidly changing international economic environment and raises a range of issues and concerns pertaining to recent developments and the future of AFTA, ASEAN Free Trade Area. Part one is devoted to thematic analyses and perspectives dealing with trade; enlarging the ASEAN regional grouping; and relations with the World Trade Organization (WTO). Part two analyses AFTA in a wider comparative perpectives, examining relationships with the major trading patners of ASEAN, namely the United States (and more broadly NAFTA); Japan; and the European Union.

The formation of the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), agreed upon at the Fourth ASEAN Summit in January 1992, reflects both developments within ASEAN and the changing international economic and political environment. Rapid industrialization in all the ASEAN countries has given rise to greater intra-ASEAN trade. Such trade has also become more complementary than competitive. In the international sphere, the emergence of regional trading blocs such as the Single European Market (SEM) and the recently concluded North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) have also had a major impact on ASEAN's perceptions of a global trading system. Fears of trade and investment diversion, coupled with increasing competition for foreign direct investments, have forced ASEAN to forge closer economic ties amongst its members. This timely volume focuses on the issues concerning the practical aspects of implementation of AFTA, and the ways and means of bringing AFTA to fruition within the 15 year frame. In addition, broader global and regional issues are analysed to provide a more comprehensive discussion of the prospects and problems of AFTA.

Seminar paper from the year 2006 in the subject Politics - International Politics - Topic: International Organisations, grade: 1,3, King s College London, course: The Business Environment in the Asia-Pacific, 15 entries in the bibliography, language: English, abstract: This book analyses and evaluates the question, in how far the creation of the Asian Free Trade Area (AFTA) brought economic benefits to the ASEAN country Vietnam. To evaluate this question the impacts of AFTA on Vietnam's trade and their foreign direct investment (FDI) are evaluated and in a further step the question analysed in how far AFTA can affect the government income revenues of Vietnam. For the analysis of AFTA's impact on Vietnams' trade, the trade structure of Vietnam will be analysed. In general it can be said that for Vietnam the accession to AFTA is a very important step in their transition process to a more market economy. Furthermore it is a major step in Vietnams' integration in the world economy. Especially the access of Vietnamese firms to a huge market such as ASEAN seems to be very advantageous. In the case of foreign direct investments, the question is if AFTA is seen by foreign firms and investors as a positive factor which would lead to investments in Vietnam or if it does not change the situation or if it has even a negative impact on the FDI due to the reason that the industries are not protected anymore by the tariffs and quotas. A further question to analyse is the origin of the FDI, this means if the major part comes from the ASEAN countries or if it has also any effects on other countries. This book primarily targets researchers and readers interested in organisations and the Vietnamese economy.

During the past decade, ASEAN has shifted its focus from political and military security to economic co-operation and development. Although this change may ease the integration of the four mainland Southeast Asian nations -- Vietnam, Laos, Myanmar, and Cambodia into ASEAN, there remain significant challenges to forge a workable and united ten-member ASEAN. This book examines many of the economic, political, and institutional issues confronting the enlarged regional grouping. The volume is organized into three sections based on the perspectives of the region, subregion, and the newer members. It not only addresses ASEAN's enlargement but also contributes to the debate on ASEAN's shifting role in the twenty-first century.

Given the rapid emergence of regional economic arrangements in Asia, especially in Southeast Asia, it is useful to understand clearly what regionalism implies for the region, as well as to take stock as to the far-reaching and complicated effects of formal economic cooperation and integration. This book allows the reader to better understand the relevant international policies of the Southeast Asian economies, and to appreciate the potential lessons for other developing regions. It also focuses on the regionalism trend with an explicit application to ASEAN, as well as the implications of regionalism in the developed countries.The goal of this book is to survey the economics and political economy of regionalism in the ASEAN context from a variety of perspectives and using various techniques, from standard economic analysis of preferential trading arrangements to the political economy analysis of institutions. Its approach is comprehensive in that it includes ASEAN economic integration in the areas of trade, foreign direct investment, and finance. Presentation of the material is designed to be accessible to non-technical audiences without sacrificing the rigor expected by economists and other experts.

Verico discusses the ASEAN economic integration from dual perspectives of time span (trade, investment and finance) and framework (bilateral, sub-regional, regional and regional plus). The work is a comprehensive study of the integration in the wake of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC)’s inauguration in late 2015. Examining various economic agreement levels from the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), Bilateral Free Trade Agreement (BFTA) and the AEC to financial integration in ASEAN, Verico attempts to envisage the future of ASEAN in completing its regional economic integration from trade to investment and finance. Verico argues that, in the absence of a customs union, ASEAN must utilize the open-regionalism frameworks of the ASEAN Plus One, ASEAN Plus Three, Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and others in order to shift its economic integration level in this way.

This is an important and timely volume: important because ASEAN is an increasingly significant and influential regional and global actor; and timely because, as the 2015 ASEAN Economic Community target approaches, what is needed is a sympathetic yet arms-length survey of the issues and challenges. ASEAN will miss some of the targets laid out in its AEC Blueprint, but the reader is left in no doubt that the ASEAN spirit is alive and well. The editors include a distinguished former Secretary General of ASEAN and the leading academic analyst of ASEAN economic cooperation. They and their co-editors are to be congratulated for soliciting contributions from an outstanding and diverse group of authors, and then adding their highly authoritative commentary and analysis. A must read for anybody seriously interested in ASEAN.