ASEAN commercial policy : a rare case of outward-looking regional integration

ASEAN has significant achievements to its credit. It is a durable and effective functioning entity, more so than any other regional organization in the developing world. For a region characterized by great diversity and a history of conflict, ASEAN has played a role in delivering relative peace and stability in the region, which has in turn facilitated rapid economic development. Yet ASEAN has not progressed very far in terms of becoming a formal economic entity. But its own brand of market-driven and institution-light regionalism has served it well. The ASEAN-6 countries have undertaken several waves of multilateralizing preferences, ensuring global connectedness. Looking forward, hopefully the new members will follow suit, and this approach towards open regionalism will be preserved with the move to an ASEAN Economic Community.