Press Releases

Experts caution ASEAN must make the political commitment to address major external issues confronting ASEAN to ensure ASEAN centrality is not compromised. To achieve that, ASEAN requires enhanced policy capacity, policy coordination and steady institutional change internally; while also requiring coherent ASEAN strategies and engaging regional and global partners in collective leadership.

Panellists speaking at the ASEAN Roundtable Series on the topic of “Future of ASEAN Trade: Tackling Non-Tariff-Barriers in the New World Trade Order” organised by CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) concurred that current measures to address NTBs in ASEAN were underdeveloped and stronger political will among ASEAN member states is critically needed to fully address the issue.

Experts speaking at the ASEAN Roundtable Series on the topic of “How does ASEAN navigate the new trade [dis]order?” organised by CIMB ASEAN Research Institute (CARI) traced the roots of hedging behaviour and identified lack of cohesiveness as some of the weaknesses that ASEAN has to overcome while navigating the new trade uncertainties.

Deputy Minister in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry of Malaysia, Dr. Ong Kian Ming, said that the present administration is committed to expediting the economic integration of ASEAN as laid down in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint 2025. Despite the fiscal challenges facing the present Malaysian government, Dr. Ong says that Putrajaya remains committed to pursuing the integration agenda as it will deliver net gain for Malaysia and ASEAN.

ASEAN Business Club (ABC), ASEAN Business Advisory Council (ASEAN-BAC) and ASEAN Bankers Association (ABA) today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen cooperation and collaboration through ASEAN-BAC Joint Business Council Financial Services Working Group.

EU trade expert calls for private sector to fully utilise the ASEAN Solutions for Investments, Services and Trade (ASSIST) as the best platform to address intra-ASEAN trade problems that limit SMEs’ ability to take advantage of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) - the regional integration agenda that has an end goal to facilitate the free movement of goods, services, investment and freer flow of capital across ASEAN.

ASEAN economic integration is making progress but further deepening of market integration and greater momentum are imperative to meet the AEC 2025 targets. Dr. Aladdin D. Rillo, Deputy Secretary-General of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) said that the AEC, whose end goals include eliminating tariff barriers, reducing costs and enhancing competitiveness among ASEAN member states, has achieved substantial targets to date.

While ASEAN member states typically will respond to the United States-China trade war on the basis of individual national interests, it is also in the member states’ national interest to collectively make ASEAN economic integration and beyond more real in order to position the East Asian Region as the bedrock of future expansion and prosperity.

Experts cautioned that the escalating trade conflict between the U.S. and its major trading partners coupled with the strengthening of the U.S. dollar are putting pressure on the short-term macroeconomic outlook, as well as posing significant policy challenges on Asian emerging markets economies, including ASEAN. ASEAN policymakers must pursue holistic policy mix to prepare the region for potential near-term economic and financial hazards, given its high exposure to global and regional trade.

ASEAN need to intensify the intra-ASEAN skilled labour mobility in the near term, as well as implement urgent education reforms and workforce reskilling agenda in the long-term to remedy the extreme skills deficit, accentuated by the skills demand brought upon by the rapid digital revolution.