The ASEAN Economic Community 2015 and Regional Trade: Some Prospects for ASEAN Agriculture

The establishment of the ASEAN Economic Community 2015 (AEC) is seen as a bold effort to promote regional cooperation among the ASEAN member states. It covers not only the usual trade policy prescriptions of lowering tariffs and other trade barriers, but other policy measures to create a single market for unhampered flow of goods, services, investments, labor, and capital. With the ASEAN countries' extensive intra- and extra-regional trade in agricultural products, the AEC can help further facilitate trade under its first pillar of economic integration. There also remains greater prospects for cooperation on technology transfer, facilitating regional investments in agricultural industries, strengthening agricultural cooperatives, trade in services allied with modern agricultural sectors, and food and nutrition security.