Whither Trade Policies in Southeast Asia?: The Wider Asian and Global Context

This paper analyses trade policies in Southeast Asian countries in their wider Asian and global contexts. It not only compares and contrasts trade policies in individual Southeast Asian countries, but also analyses these policies in the context of regional and global economic integration, as well as the economic emergence of two other major Asian economies, China and India. The paper summarizes key trade policy features in ASEAN countries, especially to get a sense of policy variety in the region and to see how policies have changed since the 1997-98 Asian economic crisis. The paper concludes that ASEAN countries cannot rely on external tracks "from above" for meaningful trade policy reform. Rather they have to rely on themselves "from below" as it were. The engine of liberalization and regulatory reform has to be home-driven, with governments taking unilateral measures in response to internal and external conditions.