The Expanded Economic Engagement Initiative announced at the fourth U.S.-ASEAN Leaders Meeting in November 2012 was a step in the right direction by providing some technical assistance and capacity-building for ASEAN states, but it still leaves much to be desired.
While enacting international trade policy in the United States is bound to be difficult, particularly in challenging economic times and with a divided Congress, it must be a top priority because Washington is already behind on the trade game in Asia. Major powers in Asia such as China, Japan, South Korea, India, and Australia all have free trade agreements with ASEAN as a whole, and they have already launched the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership amongst them that leaves out the United States. On a positive note, the administration has begun to take steps to facilitate business links between the United States and ASEAN. It organized the first ever U.S.-ASEAN Business Forum in Cambodia in July 2012 and has eased restrictions on U.S. companies interested in doing business in Burma.
Beyond this, there are a number of things the next administration can do to enhance the economic aspects of U.S.-ASEAN engagement. The first initiative is to boost both U.S. government and business investment in ASEAN infrastructure, which will encourage other interested parties to do the same. Infrastructure is the bedrock of the Master Plan for ASEAN Connectivity, an initiative launched in 2010 that stresses the development of railways, airports, power plants, and information and communica- tion technology systems to strengthen regional integration in Southeast Asia. Increased connectivity is central to improving ASEAN’s resilience and capacity as a regional actor and the United States has an interest in encouraging this. The establishment of the U.S.-ASEAN Business Forum this year marked a productive step forward, but much more can be done. For example, the United States should contribute funding to the ASEAN Infrastructure Fund (AIF) launched in May 2012 and encourage its allies and partners to do the same. As Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen noted in August, the AIF is “still very small” and “cannot sufficiently respond to the great need of ASEAN connectivity.”
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