EU Services Trade with ASEAN:Towards Policy Coherence for Development?

Abstract

In bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) negotiations with members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the European Union (EU) must demonstrate that its policy on services trade is coherent with its development policy. This will be a major challenge for the EU, since its coherence review of services trade policy merely confirmed the status quo. Policy coherence may be improved by granting concessions on temporary migration of ASEAN workers to the EU and by providing Aid for Trade to ASEAN countries to increase their capacity to export services. But at the World Trade Organization (WTO), the EU has already refused to grant concessions on temporary migration, and it is unlikely to be in a position to provide the right amount and type of Aid for Trade to ASEAN countries.