EUTrade in Financial Services withASEAN, Policy Coherence for Development and Financial Crisis

Abstract

In the wake of the financial crisis, negotiating free trade agreements (FTAs) with Southeast Asia has become a priority for the European Union (EU). Paradoxically, all the indications are that the EU will demand that Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand liberalize financial services trade with the EU. This article asks whether the EU's policy undermines coherence between EU trade and development policies. It argues that the EU and Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) agree that financial services are crucial for development, but that they differ on the approach to liberalization: the EU advocates broad-ranging liberalization, whereas ASEAN countries favour a cautious approach, conditioned by their experience of the Asian financial crisis. In view of this divergence, the EU will have to rethink its approach to financial services trade liberalization in negotiations with ASEAN countries.

Indonesia: Not a Priority in the European Union Bilateral FTA Negotiations with ASEAN

“…The European approach to FTAs has developed in response to changing conditions in the global economy (Gavin & Sindzingre, 2009). According to several writers (Gavin & Sindzingre, 2009 Robles, Jr., 2014). However, the economic reasons also caused the EU to not negotiate a bilateral FTA with China due to a number of issues such as granting market economic status to China and anti-dumping (Bungenberg & Hazarika, 2017), further implementation of domestic economic reform in China, and increasing Chinese participation in the multilateral/plurilateral trading system (e.g., Trade in Service Agreements or Information Technology Agreements) (Mazur, 2017).…”