An EU-ASEAN Free Trade Agreement: Sharing Benefits of Globalisation?
Dr Willem van der Geest

This presentation was made at the Ninth ASEF University Session in Manila, February 4-8, 2004

In the aftermath of the stalled launch of a new WTO round of global trade talks (December 1999), Singapore and Japan initiated a joint study into the feasibility and desirability of a possible bilateral Free Trade Agreement. The subsequent negotiations led to a 'New-Age Economic Partnership Agreement' signed in January 2002, reducing barriers in trade and investment in goods as well as services, technical standards and public procurement.

New initiatives for economic cooperation in, inter alia, human resource development, science and technology and SMEs were agreed. During 2000 talks had also began between Singapore and the United States and these are resulting in a bilateral Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

Responding to these developments, several other ASEAN countries initiated negotiations towards bilateral FTAs with other major players, most notably Thailand (with India) as well as Malaysia (with Japan and others). Moreover, China stated its intention to enter into a Free Trade Agreement with the ASEAN by 2012. 

It is against this background of deepening of trade and investment links between the several ASEAN Member States (Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand) and several major players that the question of a possible EU-ASEAN FTA is investigated.

The stalling of the multi-lateral trade talks in Cancun in September 2003, implying that the Doha Development Agenda process will not be able to reach agreement within the time-frame set, also provides a new argument for assessing the scope for an inter-regional free trade agreement between EU and ASEAN. 

This lecture note addresses the possible opportunities and risks to the European Union of entering into negotiations with ASEAN Member States with a view to realising a bilateral EU-Singapore FTA.

It assesses the pre-feasibility of such a course of action, while noting a number of questions which deserve further policy discussion as well as economic and statistical analysis. At this stage a simple 'for or against' evaluation will be premature, in view of the multitude of scenarios at both the bilateral and multilateral levels.

Download the Full Presentation (pdf)