ASEAN Services Integration Report
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized Public Disclosure Authorized 100637 East Asia & Pacific Region ASEAN Services Integration Report A Joint Report by the ASEAN Secretariat and the World Bank The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was established on August 8, 1967. The Member States of the Association are Brunei Darussalam, Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. The ASEAN Secretariat is based in Jakarta, Indonesia. ©ASEAN 2015 The ASEAN Secretariat 70 A Jalan Sisingamangaraja Jakarta 12110 Indonesia Telephone: 62-21-724-3372 Internet: www.asean.org © 2015 International Bank for Reconstruction and Development / International Development Association or The World Bank 1818 H Street NW Washington DC 20433 USA Telephone: 1-202-473-1000 Internet: www.worldbank.org This work is a product of the East Asia and Pacific Region, the World Bank and the ASEAN Secretariat, with external contributions and support from the Government of Australia (see below). The findings, interpretations, and conclusions expressed in this work do not necessarily reflect the views of ASEAN or its Member States, the World Bank, its Board of Executive Directors, or the governments they represent. ASEAN or the World Bank does not guarantee the accuracy of the data included in this work. The boundaries, colors, denominations, and other information shown on any map in this work do not imply any judgment on the part of ASEAN or The World Bank concerning the legal status of any territory or the endorsement or acceptance of such boundaries. The material in this work is subject to copyright. Because ASEAN and The World Bank encourage dissemination of its knowledge, this work may be freely quoted or reprinted, in whole or in part, for noncommercial purposes as long as full attribution to this work is given. Any queries on rights and licenses, including subsidiary rights, should be addressed to the Office of the Chief Economist, East Asia and Pacific Region, The World Bank, 1818 H Street NW, Washington, DC 20433, USA. Supported by the Australian Government through the ASEAN-Australia Development Cooperation Program Phase II (AADCP II). Abbreviations AANZFTA ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free IT information technology Trade Agreement LMT labor market test ABIF ASEAN Banking Integration M-ATM ASEAN Tourism Ministers Meeting Framework MAAS Multilateral Agreement on Air Services ACIA ASEAN Comprehensive Investment MAFLPAS Multilateral Agreement for Full Agreement Liberalization of Passenger Air ACMF ASEAN Capital Markets Forum Services ACPE ASEAN Chartered Professional MALIAT Multilateral Agreement on the Engineer Liberalization of International Air ACPER ASEAN Chartered Professional Transportation Engineers Register MAS Monetary Authority of Singapore AEC ASEAN Economic Community MFN most-favored nation AEM ASEAN Economic Ministers MRAs Mutual Recognition Agreements or AFAS ASEAN Framework Agreement on Arrangements Services NAFTA North American Free Trade Agreement AGCM ASEAN Central Bank Governors’ OECD Organisation for Economic Meeting Co-operation and Development AMNP Agreement on the Movement of PRA Professional Regulatory Authority Natural Persons QABs Qualified ASEAN Banks AMS ASEAN Member States QFB Qualifying Full Bank APEC Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation RIATS Roadmap for Integration of Air Travel ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations Sector ATM ASEAN Transport Ministers Meeting SAR special administrative region ATM automated teller machines SSE service supplying employees BIMP-EAGA Brunei Darussalam, Indonesia, STRI Services Trade Restrictiveness Index Malaysia, and the Philippines East TELMIN Telecommunications and IT Ministers ASEAN Growth Area Meeting BPO business processing outsourcing TII Trade Intensity Index CAFTA Central America Free Trade Agreement WC-FSL Working Committee on ASEAN CCS Coordinating Committee on Services Financial Services Liberalisation CLMV Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and WTO World Trade Organization Vietnam EDSM Enhanced Dispute Settlement Mechanism EIA economic integration agreement EU European Union Countries FDI foreign direct investment CHN China FTA free trade agreement IDN Indonesia GATS General Agreement on Trade in KHM Cambodia Services LAO Lao People’s Democratic Republic GCC Gulf Cooperation Council MMR Myanmar GDP gross domestic product MNG Mongolia GMS Greater Mekong Subregion MYS Malaysia GTAP Global Trade Analysis Project PHL Philippines GVC global value chain PNG Papua New Guinea ICT information and communication SGP Singapore technology THA Thailand IMS-GT Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore Growth VNM Vietnam Triangle IMS-GT Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand Growth Regions Triangle AFR Sub-Saharan Africa INACA Indonesian National Air Carriers BRN Brunei Darussalam Association ECA Europe and Central Asia IOSCO International Organization of Securities LAC Latin America and Caribbean Commissions MENA Middle East and Northern Africa ISO International Organization for SAR South Asia Region Standardization Foreword With the services sector’s increasingly significant contributions to the regional economy, supporting about half of its combined GDP and 60 percent of its total foreign direct investment inflows in recent years, ASEAN fully recognizes the opportunities for further growth and employment that the services sector creates. The liberalization of the services sector in the region has traditionally focused on two areas, specifically, the promotion of trade in services as well as the promotion of flows of skilled labor through the establishment of Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) for professional services. Under the ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS), ASEAN has made concerted efforts to enhance cooperation among Member States, setting specific targets for the process of liberalizing and integrating the services sector in the region to enable the free flow of services envisioned in the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC). This Report provides an in-depth assessment of the role of services trade in ASEAN’s economic integration, analyzing the framework of ASEAN’s services policies and the impact of services integration in the region. Aside from identifying prevailing challenges and potential opportunities, the Report provides a useful reference on ASEAN’s progress and puts forward key recommendations to enhance regional trade in services. The formal launch of the ASEAN Community and the endorsement by the Leaders of ASEAN of the forward-looking and ambitious ASEAN Community Vision 2025 this year will create greater impetus to further broaden and deepen ASEAN’s services integration process with its benefits ultimately redounding to the people-oriented, people-centred ASEAN Community. LE LUONG MINH Secretary-General of ASEAN Foreword The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) brings together ten countries with over 620 million people and a combined gross domestic product of more than USD 2.5 trillion. These countries are well integrated into the global economy and have benefited from this integration. And, as evidenced by their adoption of the ambitious goal of forming an ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by 2015, they are committed to even deeper regional integration. An earlier report - the ASEAN Integration Monitoring Report (2013), which was jointly prepared by the ASEAN Secretariat (ASEC) and the World Bank, showed that ASEAN's regional integration agenda has provided important benefits to the Member States. In particular, ASEAN integration has helped boost regional trade flows without trade diversion, improve trade logistics, lower aggregate trade costs and increase regional investment flows. This joint ASEC--World Bank report, which focuses on services integration within ASEAN, is timely for two reasons. First, as ASEAN prepares to launch the AEC at the end of this year, addressing services integration is clearly high on the agenda of policymakers. Second, Member States are now discussing a new services integration agreement to replace the previous ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services. This report takes stock of ASEAN's achievements in services integration, delineates the potential gains from further integration and highlights the challenges that remain. Recognizing the role of services in spurring economic growth and job creation, including in manufacturing and agriculture, regional policymakers have committed to an ambitious plan for integrating their services sectors as a core element of the AEC. As the report highlights, there are successes in some sectors - such as in health in Thailand, education in Malaysia and finance in Singapore - on which future actions can build. Nevertheless, intra• ASEAN trade in services remains low relative to the economic size, complementarity and geographical proximity of ASEAN member states. As the report notes, there are still a range of policies in ASEAN economies that impede services integration. Overall, the data and analysis show that while there has been good progress in making commitments to integrate services trade, more needs to be done to fully realize the goals laid out in the AEC Blueprint. The report reviews approaches to negotiations and institutional processes underlying services integration. It provides a range of specific recommendations on implementing commitments, enhancing transparency, and strengthening the institutional framework and negotiating modalities. Finally, it highlights priorities for regional regulatory reform and