Trade Leader Proposes Market Reform in Asia

The leader of an umbrella trade organization for 10 Southeast Asian nations told a packed ARCO Forum Thursday night that the organization must come up with new economic policy because of the current extent and momentum of globalization.

Rodolfo Severino Jr., secretary general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), said ASEAN’s future in a globalized economy necessitates the standardization of political as well as economic and social policies.

“It is time for the ASEAN to go on to the next stage in its development—the deepened integration of the nations to increase the economic competitiveness of the region,” Severino said.

“Resolving current concerns require stronger regional leadership, the coordination of international policies, a high degree of mutual trust and sense of community among member states,” he added.

ASEAN, whose member countries have a population of roughly 520 million, was formed in 1967 by its six signatory nations to combat political instability resulting from the U.S-Vietnam war and to improve relations with their Asian neighbors.

Due in part to ASEAN’s consolidation and international management of the region, Southeast Asia has experienced remarkable economic growth for the last two decades, with a projected annual growth rate of 4 percent.

According to the ASEAN Business Council, the region has become the fifth-largest U.S. export market, exporting $47 billion in goods to the U.S. last year.

To make Southeast Asian markets more competitive in the globalized economy, the organization sought to reduce regional tariff barriers, recently dropping tariffs among the six original signatory nations by 5 percent.

According to Severino, who has served as ASEAN secretary general since 1998, a number of international concerns—including pollution, terrorism, AIDS and drug-trafficking—have impacted both the mission and efforts of the ASEAN.

And that, he said, is part of what necessitates a change in strategy.

“Southeast Asia and the organization that this region created must transform itself to meet the challenges of the modern age,” Severino said.