The Need for Common Investment Measures with ASEAN

A growing proportion of international trade within the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) occurs within multinational enterprises. In an effort to liberalize trade policy within the region, policies governing direct foreign investment should also be evaluated. ASEAN governments have achieved a significant level of convergence in investment policy regimes through unilateral reforms. One outcome of this non-cooperative approach, however, has been an unusually high level of investment incentives within ASEAN. This article evaluates investment regimes within ASEAN and considers the likelihood of a regional agreement on investment measures.