Efforts must be stepped up on trade agreements with ASEAN countries

(14 December 2022) The first EU-ASEAN Summit is taking place today in Brussels. BusinessEurope calls for negotiations with individual ASEAN countries to be revived and concluded.

BusinessEurope Director General Markus J. Beyrer said: “The Indo-Pacific region is increasingly important from a geo-strategic and economic viewpoint. The European Union must step up efforts to bring over the line ongoing negotiations with Indonesia, and revive negotiations with Malaysia, the Philippines and Thailand. As pursuing a region-to-region approach is not an option at the moment, trade deals with individual ASEAN countries are our best shot to harmonise rules and promote further market integration, building on the deals that we have already in place with Singapore and Vietnam.”

As the European Union is considering reviving or accelerating negotiations with ASEAN countries, priority should be given to countries that are committed to achieving an ambitious outcome within a reasonable period of time, including on trade and sustainable development, and unlocking significant economic opportunities.