Free Trade Area Membership as a Stepping Stone to Development: The Case of ASEAN.

This study investigates the economic impacts of accession to the ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA) by the new member countries of Cambodia, the Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Vietnam. The trade policies of these countries are examined, and a series of quantitative analyses were undertaken to evaluate the impacts of accession. The study focuses on some of the key country-specific policy challenges associated with trade liberalization-- such as declining tariff revenues in Cambodia, and the negative impacts on sensitive domestic industries in Vietnam.