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RegionalismintheBalance:ReflectionsonASEANatFiftyfromaLiberalPerspective
23
Between2009and2013,despiteASEAN’ssuccessinnullifyingintra-regional
tariffs,itsmemberstatesimplemented186newnon-tariffmeasures(NTMs).65Ineffect,
NTMshavereplacedtariffsastheprotectionisttoolofchoicewithinASEAN,allowing
memberstomaintainproformacommitmenttotheAECwhileshieldingthemselves
fromtheimpactsoftradeliberalisation.TheAEC’sfocusonliberalisingintra-regional
tradeisthereforecontingentuponitsabilitytolowernon-tariffbarriers,butASEANhas
notyetsufficientlycommitteditselftothisgoal.66
Consequently,despiteestablishmentofamultitudeofforumsandframeworksto
governregionaleconomicintegrationthroughtheAEC,theactualimplementationofthose
agreementscontinuestolag.67Asearlyas2012,theEconomicResearchInstitutefor
ASEANandEastAsia(ERIA)highlightedsignificantnon-tariffbarrierstotradeand
investment,infrastructureprojectsfallingbehindscheduleandregionalregulations
beingimproperlyenforced.
68
Muchofthisisduetodevelopmentdisparitiesacross
theregion.In2014,lessthanone-tenthofintra-ASEANtradetookplaceundertheterms
oftheASEANFreeTradeAgreement(AFTA)andtheASEANTradeinGoodsAgreement
(ATIGA),astheRulesofOriginrequirementsfortariffconcessionsareoftenbeyond
themeansofthesmall-andmedium-sizedenterprisesthatdominateASEAN’sbusiness
environment.69
Toexplainthestalledprogressofregionaleconomicintegration,itisnecessary
tounderstandtheregionaleconomy.Whileeconomicintegrationalongliberallines
holdsdefiniteallure,thenatureofglobalsupplychainsandSoutheastAsia’sexport-
orienteddevelopmentmodelmeansASEANeconomiesarecompetitive,ratherthan
complementary,vyingfortasksoutsourcedfromadvancedeconomiesandengaging
inunilateralliberalisationtomaintainrelativeadvantage.
70
Accordingly,stateshave
pursuedmanyextra-regionaltradeagreementstofurthertheirownrelativegainscompared
tofellowASEANmembers.
71
WhileASEANelitesexpatiateonthebenefitsofeconomic
liberalisation,theiractionsbelieadecidedlymercantilistapproachtotheintegration
project,whichfuelscompetitionamongsttheireconomies.72
65
J.Dosch,4TheASEANEconomicCommunity:DeepIntegrationorJustPoliticalWindowDressing?,
TRaNS:Trans-Regionaland-NationalStudiesofSoutheastAsia,January2017,Vol.5,No.1,p.34;
S.Tangkitvanich,S.Rattanakhamfu,4AssessingtheASEANEconomicCommunity’,EastAsiaForum,
21March2017,http://www.eastasiaforum.org/2017/03/21/assessing-the-asean-economic-community/(ac-
cessedon20July2017).
66
L.Chen,L.Cuyvers,P.DeLombaerde,4ASEANEconomicIntegrationCompared:WhatDo
theNumbersTellUs?’,TheSingaporeEconomicReview,June2017,Vol.62,No.3,p.638.
67
J.Dosch,op.cit.,pp.26-27.
68
L.Jones,4ExplainingtheFailureoftheASEANEconomicCommunity:Theprimacyofdomestic
politicaleconomy’,PacificReview,2016,Vol.29,No.5,p.648.
69
J.Dosch,op.cit.,p.37.
70
L.Chen,L.Cuyvers,P.DeLombaerde,op.cit.,p.623.
71
72
J.Dosch,op.cit.,pp.39-40.
L.Jones,op.cit.,pp.655-656.
