Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

Thailand is a member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), with other members including Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Vietnam, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia and Singapore. A Thai initiative to create an ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) in 1992 saw the governments of the ASEAN agreeing to reduce tariffs on most processed agricultural and industrial products traded amongst the member nations between 0-5 percent by the year 2003. It is estimated that the size of the economics comprising the ASEAN region and the AFTA is US$700 billion. Although Thailand has begun to phase in reductions in tariffs to meet the targets, the true impact of the AFTA and each member's participation remains to be seen. Analysts believe that the AFTA will be expanded to other countries in the region with a potential linkage to the Australia-New Zealand free trade agreement being on the horizon.