influence on economic activities

• Free-trade agreement established by ASEAN for ASEAN countries

  • aimed to liberalise trade through elimination of tariffs and trade barriers, and expand intra-regional trade 
  • aimed to increase investments across the countries (giving ASEAN consumers wider variety and greater quantity of choices)
  • allows increase in FDI inflows and increased reputation of ASEAN and boosted growth across ASEAN countries
• example

  the ASEAN-China Free Trade Area, where tariffs on nearly 8000 product categories, or 90% of imported goods, were reduced to 0. Trade between ASEAN and other countries through free trade partnerships were significant at an average of 54% of overall trade within ASEAN and between ASEAN and partners