To fend off the ill effects of an ailing global economy and to promote further economic integration within this region, Southeast Asian nations signed three economic agreements on Tuesday (16^th December).

 

In light of the worsening health of the global economy growth in Southeast Asian economies has slowed dramatically. Analysts said the trade agreements could be a welcome bulwark against increased national protectionism, but were no short-term fix.

 

The trade agreements by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) follow the implementation of a charter in Jakarta on Monday (15^th December) that is aimed at setting up an economic bloc of half a billion people by 2015.

 

But ASEAN, with varied political systems, vastly different economic situations and often dismissed by experts as a talk shop, may find its aims blown off course by the financial crisis. Singapore's foreign minister admitted in Jakarta there could be an increased tendency toward protectionism, in a region that has struggled to liberalize its air space or allow investment by neighbors in strategic industries.

 

The three agreements signed on Tuesday include the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, to reduce tariffs on traded goods and to provide a clear framework of custom procedures. Intra-ASEAN trade, which accounts for one-quarter of total ASEAN trade, was valued at $404.3 billion in 2007, said a Malaysian press statement.