Advent of the Era of the AEC and Its Impacts on Singapore and Indonesia(4)

Comparative Study on the Perception and Response of Singapore and Indonesia

The AEC has drawn huge attention from the global society ever since discussions over the formation of the new regional economic community became the talk of the town. It isn't too much to say that agendas of the AEC Blueprint 2015 such as elimination of tariffs, facilitation of skilled labor mobility, liberalization of investment have been greatly valued to the international community. 

In that more than 95% of intra-regional trades have been conducted free from any types of tariff, expectation for meaningful progresses of the AEC gets bigger and bigger.

The establishment of the AEC and its implication for South Korea(4)

The establishment of the AEC and its implication for South Korea

In fact, meaningful progress was already achieved since more than 70% of the intra-regional trade has been conducted free from any types of tariff. What will be the ASEAN like in the time of the AEC? It may be too early to forecast the AEC in 10~20 years when the AEC just pulled up its anchor. 

Even short-term outlook is not an easy thing to challenge as emerging markets with high volatility consist of most parts of the region. The question is whether the AEC can evolve itself something beyond a regional agreement body.