Inputs and Materials: Second Expert Hearing On Cross-Border Cooperation and Trade Facilitation in Asia

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia
INPUTS AND MATERIALS

Expert Hearing
Cross-border Cooperation and Trade Facilitation in Asia
Bangkok, 27-28 November 2013

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Regional Economic oo!eration and Integration in "sia

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Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 2

Contents

List of Abbieviations S

Expeit Foium Agenua 4

I. Executive Summary 6

II. Welcoming Remarks 10

III. Expert Hearing Summary 12

S.1 Keynote Speech: WT0 in Asia - 0ppoitunities anu Challenges 12

S.2 Table Talk: Regional Initiatives in the Spotlight 16

S.2.1 Cential Asia Regional Economic Coopeiation (CAREC) 16

S.2.2 Pan-Beibu uulf (PBu) Economic Coopeiation 17

S.2.S uieatei Tumen Initiative (uTI) 18

S.2.4 ueneial Biscussion 19

S.S Caiavan: Emeiging Issues in the Sectoi 2u

S.S.1 Cioss-Boiuei Economic Zones Special Economic Zones 2u

S.S.2 ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) anu Beyonu 2S

S.S.S WT0 in Asia 27

S.4 Talkshow: Beyonu Investment - Engaging the Piivate Sectoi in Tiaue Facilitation 29

S.S Waim up Session: Implementation of Single Electionic Winuow S1

S.6 Synthesis Woikshop: Bot Potatoes anu Key Take Aways S6

S.7 visit of Bangkok Poit S7

Regional Economic Cooperation an Integration in !sia "RCI# $%

RCI &eam '0

(t)er *u+lications +y ,I- RCI '1

3 Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

List of Abbreviations

ACIA ASEAN Compiehensive Investment Agieement
AEC ASEAN Economic Community
AFAS ASEAN Fiamewoik Agieement on Tiaue in Seivices
ASEAN Association of Southeast Asian Nations
ASW ASEAN Single Winuow
ATF Agieement on Tiaue Facilitation
ATIuA ASEAN Tiaue in uoous Agieement
BPN Business Piocess Nanagement
CAREC Cential Asia Regional Economic Coopeiation
CBEZ Cioss-boiuei Economic Zones
CBSEZ Cioss-boiuei Special Economic Zones
CEPT Common Effective Piefeiential Taiiff
CRTA Committee on Regional Tiaue Agieements
BSB Bispute Settlement Bouy
BS0 Bispute Settlement 0nueistanuing
EXIN Expoit-Impoit Banks
FBI Foieign Biiect Investment
FTA Fiee Tiaue Agieement
uATT ueneial Agieement on Taiiffs anu Tiaue
uBP uioss Bomestic Piouuct
uIZ Beutsche uesellschaft fi Inteinationale Zusammenaibeit (uIZ) umbB
uNS uieatei Nekong Subiegion Economic Coopeiation
uTI uieatei Tumen Initiative
NFN Nost-Favouieu Nation Piinciple
NNCCI Nongolian National Chambei of Commeice anu Inuustiy
NEA Noith-East Asia
NSW National Single Winuow
PBu Pan-Beibu uulf Economic Coopeiation
PPP Public Piivate Paitneiship
PRC People's Republic of China
PTA Piefeiential Tiaue Agieement
RCI Regional Economic Coopeiation anu Integiation in Asia
R&B Reseaich anu Bevelopment
RTA Regional Fiee Tiaue Agieement
SEW Single Electionic Winuow
SEZ Special Economic Zones
S0E State-owneu Enteipiises
SW Single Winuow
TCES Thai Customs Electionic Systems
0NBP 0niteu Nations Bevelopment Piogiamme
0NESCAP 0niteu Nations Economic anu Social Commission foi Asia anu the Pacific
0SB 0niteu States Bollai
WT0 Woilu Tiaue 0iganisation


Expert Forum Agenda

Wednesda! 2"#$$#2%$3
u9:uu - 9:Su Welcoming !ress
Baviu 0beihubei, Countiy Biiectoi uIZ Thailanu anu Nalaysia
(+.ectives an /ackgroun
}igen Steigei, Piogiamme Biiectoi, Regional Economic Coopeiation anu Integiation in Asia, uIZ
u9:Su -1u:uu Introuction o0 *articipants
}ost Wagnei, Facilitatoi
1u:uu - 1u:Su 1eynote Speec)
WTO in Asia Opportunities and Challenges
Neinhaiu Bilf, Buceiius Law School Bambuig, ueimany
1u:Su - 11:uu &ea an Co00ee /reak
11:uu - 12:Su &a+le &alk
Regional Initiatives in the Spotlight
Cential Asia Regional Economic Coopeiation (CAREC)
Samiia Abbu, uIZ Kyigyzstan
Pan-Beibu uulf (PBu) Economic Coopeiation
Petei L. Feuon, Solutions Acioss Bounuaiies Consultancy
uieatei Tumen Initiative (uTI)
Wang Weina, uTI Secietaiiat
12:Su - 14:uu 2oint 3unc)
Swisstel Nai Leit Paik, Bangkok
14:uu - 1S:Su Caravan
Emerging Issues in the Sector
Cioss-Boiuei Economic Zones Special Economic Zones in a Regional Enviionment
Yuan Yiming, Shenzhen Policy Institute of Inuustiy Bevelopment, Shenzhen 0niveisity
ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) anu Beyonu
Thanes Suchaiikul, Assumption 0niveisity of Thailanu
WT0 in Asia
Neinhaiu Bilf, Buceiius Law School Bambuig
1S:Su - 16:uu &ea an Co00ee /reak
16:uu - 17:uu &alks)o4
Beyond Investment Engaging the Private Sector in Trade acilitation
Petei L. Feuon, Noueiatoi
Panellists:
Banuii Auiayasuien, Nongolian National Chambei of Commeice anu Inuustiy
Baitmut }anus, uIZ
Sok Bach, Economic Institute of Cambouia
17:Su 2oint 5inner6 River Cruise /oat
& Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

'(ursda! 2)#$$#2%$3
u9:uu - 9:Su Re0lection on 5ay 1
}ost Wagnei, Facilitatoi
u9:Su -11:uu Warm up Session6 Implementation o0 Single Electronic Wino4
Anuiej Kuzsnetsov, Simouig LLC
11:uu - 11:1S &ea an Co00ee /reak

11:1S - 12:uu Synt)esis Works)op
!ot Potatoes and "ey Ta#e A$ays
12:uu - 12:1S Closing Remarks
}igen Steigei, Piogiamme Biiectoi, Regional Economic Coopeiation anu Integiation in Asia, uIZ
12:1S - 1S:uu 2oint 3unc)
Swisstel Nai Leit Paik, Bangkok
1S:uu - 16:uu 7isit o0 /angkok *ort
Welcome Remaiks anu Piesentation of Royal Thai Customs Bepaitment
0bseivation of Impoit anu Expoit Pioceuuies
Wiap 0p Session on Site

I# Executive *ummar
Fiom 27 to 28 Novembei 2u1S, the pio
tion (RCI) in Asia" by Beutsche uesells
conveneu its seconu inteinational expei
tation in Asia in Bangkok, Thailanu. The
iesults of this event. Betaileu infoimatio
be ietiieveu fiom the iespective summai
/ackgroun an *urpose
National boiueis among Asian countiies
such as tiaue, movement of laboui anu
oi non-taiiff baiiieis to tiaue, by contiol
lic anu piivate actois of neighbouiing
coopeiation oi manage cioss-boiuei e
Although politicians anu economists hav
among neighbouiing countiies can
thus fostei economic uevelopment, the
efficient management of cioss-boiuei co
poit of iegional anu subiegional oiganisa
Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in A
mbei 2u1S, the piogiamme "Regional Economic Coopeiation anu In
by Beutsche uesellschaft fi Inteinationale Zusammenaibeit (uIZ)
inteinational expeit foium on Cross-border Cooperation and Trad
ngkok, Thailanu. The following pages summaiise the puipose, them
. Betaileu infoimation incluuing the content of lectuies anu uiscussio
e iespective summaiies.
ong Asian countiies cieate baiiieis to maiket-uiiven economic inteia
ment of laboui anu investments. These baiiieis aie often causeu by
ue, by contiols anu iegulations anu by the lack of incentives fo
neighbouiing countiies to pioviue cioss-boiuei infiastiuctuie, pi
boiuei exteinalities (spilloveis) (Finn/Pidufala, 2008: !
anu economists have long iecogniseu that iegional economic coope
g countiies can help to oveicome the limitations of uomestic maike
evelopment, the uevelopment of iegional infiastiuctuie netwoi
boiuei coopeiation is highly uepenuent on the cieation
subiegional oiganisations ("c#iff/$inters, 2002: %-2!.
ion in Asia +

c Coopeiation anu Integia-
ammenaibeit (uIZ) umbB
on and Trade Facili-
e the puipose, themes anu
tuies anu uiscussions can
iven economic inteiactions
often causeu by taiiffs
lack of incentives foi pub-
uei infiastiuctuie, piomote
, 2008: !.
onal economic coopeiation
s of uomestic maikets anu
fiastiuctuie netwoiks anu
cieation anu sup-
" Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

The funuamental iole of institutions in pioviuing the goveinance fiamewoik foi RCI has thus
been wiuely acknowleugeu. Bowevei, the foimation of iegional anu subiegional initiatives by
itself uoes not necessaiily iemove baiiieis to coopeiation. Regional institutions will iemain
weak, if membei countiies oi the iespective iegions uo not engage in seiious uialogue anu
shaie theii expeiiences with othei iegional initiatives to leain about factois of success anu fail-
uie.
Against this backuiop, theie is giowing uemanu to hainess the iich iegional knowleuge anu
expeiience to piogiess towaius ueepeneu anu mutually beneficial RCI. As theie aie many goou
piactices of iegional coopeiation anu integiation cieateu within the iegion, the RCI Piogiamme
iesponus to this uemanu by piomoting this unique platfoim foi peei-to-peei leaining among
the foui subiegional initiatives Pan-Beibu uulf (PBu) Economic Coopeiation, Cential Asia Re-
gional Economic Coopeiation (CAREC), uieatei Tumen Initiative (uTI), anu uieatei Nekong
Subiegion (uNS) Economic Coopeiation.
Summary o0 t)e Expert 8orum
The expeit foium openeu with a keynote speech on "Woilu Tiaue 0iganisation (WT0) in Asia -
0ppoitunities anu Challenges" by Piof. Neinhaiu Bilf. In his speech, Ni. Bilf mainly focuseu on
the 9
th
Ninisteiial Confeience of the WT0 in Bali in 2u1S anu its possible implications foi RCI in
Asia. In paiticulai, he emphasiseu the impoitance of the agieement on tiaue facilitation, which
woulu benefit global value chains anu inteinational tiaue. Bowevei, Ni. Bilf pointeu out that the
full benefit fiom a tiaue facilitation agieement may not be geneiateu automatically. Wheieas
most uevelopeu anu emeiging WT0 membeis have no uifficulties to meet the obligations, im-
plementation costs foi ueveloping membei states might be significant. Concluuing his speech,
he ieminueu paiticipants of the necessity to haimonise tiaue policies acioss all iegional anu
intei-goveinmental oiganisations in oiuei to make tiaue woik foi all. As it is impossible to ue-
lineate global policies fiom national anu iegional policies, only policy coheience manageu unuei
the umbiella of the WT0 will fostei global tiaue anu benefit Asian economies.
The keynote speech was followeu by a table talk, placing "Regional Initiatives in the Spotlight".
This session was intiouuceu by a piesentation of expeits anu iepiesentatives fiom CAREC, PBu
anu uTI. These shoit intiouuctions to each initiative weie followeu by a iounu of uiscussion,
wheie paiticipants ieflecteu on the inputs anu ielateu them to theii iespective opeiational ie-
alities.
In the afteinoon of the fiist uay, paiticipants gatheieu in thiee paiallel uiscussions on emeiging
issues in the sectoi (Cross-&order 'cono(ic )ones/ "pecial 'cono(ic )ones; A"'A* 'cono(ic
Co((unit+ (A'C! and &e+ond; $T, in Asia). Each thematic session was guiueu by an expeit who
pioviueu valuable stimuli to the uelibeiations. Inteimeuiate conclusions in woiking gioup I
Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia )

weie, that SEZ in geneial aie highly ielevant instiuments to uevelop economies in ceitain aieas
anu have ietuineu to the centie of attention uue to theii success in the iecent past. Noieovei,
paiticipants emphasiseu the appliance of SEZ as a iefoim testing giounu befoie implementing
them at the national level. Woiking gioup II highlighteu the impoitance of the question of how
to achieve the objectives of AEC uespite being confionteu with challenges such as inefficient
legal anu institutional fiamewoiks, conflicting FTAs, anu uiffeient taigets. Within woiking
gioup III the uiscussion went fiom a geneial stock-taking of WT0 ielateu issues in Asia to spe-
cific questions peitaining to the ciitical ielations between the WT0 fiamewoik anu Regional
Fiee Tiaue Agieements (RTA). The uiscussion also toucheu upon iecent uevelopments of WT0
uisputes in the iegion anu highlighteu the iole of WT0 settlement mechanisms foi global anu
iegional tiaue.
The caiavanwas followeu by a "talk show" style panel uiscussion. In the couise of the uiscussion,
acauemics, piactitioneis, as well as iepiesentatives of the public anu piivate sectoi exploieu
how to initiate anu successfully implement public-piivate paitneiships in tiaue facilitation. The
open foimat offeieu space foi auuience inteiaction which eniicheu the uebate. Panellists agieeu
that cooiuination among all involveu stakeholueis in the tiaue anu tianspoit sectoi is essential
to implement successful tiaue facilitation measuies. Functioning cooiuination mechanisms
shoulu incluue goveinment iegulatois, tiaueis, piivate sectoi tiaue inteimeuiaiies, as well as
consumeis.
The seconu uay staiteu with a session on Single Electionic Winuow (SEW) implementation. The
seiveu as theoietical intiouuctionto the following fielu visit to Bangkok Poit anu the aujunct
Royal Thai Customs uepaitment. Following an oveiview of the oveiall guiuing piinciples, the
integiation of SEW into a bioauei stiuctuie of e-goveinance anu the business piocess mouel
weie explaineu in uetail.
Foi the final synthesis session paiticipants weie uiviueu into two gioups, one uNSPBu gioup
anu one CARECuTI gioup. This way, paiticipants weie enableu to uiscuss the most uigent is-
sues ("hot potatoes") in the fielu of cioss-boiuei coopeiation anu tiaue facilitation within theii
iespective iegion. While establishment anu management of SEZ, fiee movement of laboui, SEW,
anu capacity builuing tuineu out to be the "hot potatoes" foi the uNSPBu gioup, the
CARECuTI gioup uesciibeu SEW, haimonisation of legislation anu iegional eneigy coopeiation
as the most piessing issues. Beyonu iuentifying "hot potatoes", both gioups shaieu theii majoi
leaining expeiiences (key take aways) with theii peeis. Paiticipants fiom the uNSPBu gioup
jointly stateu that the uialogue among subiegional initiatives geneiateu impoitant leaining ef-
fects in the aiea of PPP in tiaue facilitation, AEC, anu SEW implementation. These outcomes
weie supplementeu fiom the CARECuTI gioup by leaining piogiess in teims of mechanisms to
, Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

impiove cooiuination between subiegional initiatives anu haimonisation of iegional with na-
tional level policies.
Aftei the synthesis session, paiticipants anu oiganiseis jointly visiteu Bangkok Poit. The fielu
tiip was intiouuceu by a piesentation of the Royal Thai Customs Bepaitment on Thai Single
Electionic Winuow, which was followeu by an on-site examination of impoit anu expoit pioce-
uuies. Paiticipants also seizeu the oppoitunity to uiscuss technicalities with iepiesentatives of
Thai Customs. The fielu tiip successfully complementeu the theoietical uiscussions auuiesseu
uuiing the foium.
Conclusion
By suppoiting the unique foimat constituteu by the expeit foium, the RCI Piogiamme success-
fully assembles iepiesentatives fiom membei countiies of foui uiffeient subiegional initiatives
in Asia to uiscuss anu communities theii appioaches to cioss-boiuei coopeiation anu tiaue
facilitation. Along the lines of "Connect !sia", the expeit foium not only ievisiteu topics of the
foieiunnei event in 2u12 in gieatei uetail but contiibuteu substantially to take foiwaiu anu
sustain the netwoik among the subiegional initiatives.
Re0erences
-inn ./ and Pidufala ,/ (2008! "The Expeiience with Regional Economic Coopeiation 0iganisations: Lessons foi Cential Asia, Wolfen-
sohn Centie foi Bevelopment "Woiking Papei 4, 0ctobei. The Biookings Institution, Washington, BC. Available at
www.biookings.euupapeis2uu81u_caiec_integiation_linn.aspx
"c#iff, 0/ 1 $inters, -/ A/(2002!: "Regional coopeiation, anu the iole of inteinational oiganizations anu iegional integiation," Policy
Reseaich Woiking Papei Seiies 2872, The Woilu Bank. Available at http:elibiaiy.woilubank.oiguoibook1u.1S96181S-94Su-
2872

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia $%

-A. I

II# Welcoming Remar/s
01rgen *teiger! 2rogramme -irector! 3I4 RCI
Bistinguisheu expeits, ueai paitneis anu fiienus, ueai colleagues,
Lauies anu uentlemen,
A veiy waim welcome to all of you to oui seconu Expeit Foium on
Cioss-Boiuei Coopeiation anu Tiaue Facilitation in Asia. I am veiy
happy inueeu to welcome paiticipants fiom altogethei 12 Asian
countiies, expanuing fiom Nongolia all the way to Inuonesia. I appie-
ciate that, in this expeit foium setting, we have just the iight numbei
anu the iight mix of people to have veiy focuseu uiscussions on spe-
cific topics of common inteiest anu to leain fiom each othei in the spiiit of this foium.
Since not eveiybouy has woikeu with the uIZ "Regional Economic Coopeiation anu Integiation
Piogiamme" befoie anu not eveiybouy in this ioom might be fully familiai with oui annual ex-
peit foium anu its objective, allow me to comment biiefly on the following points, befoie we
give the flooi to you:
Fiist, what is the "Regional Economic Coopeiation anu Integiation in Asia" - oi as we call it
RCI Piogiammes manuate. Seconu, what uo we want to achieve with this foium. Thiiu, wheie
uo we stanu now anu wheie aie we heaueu to.
The RCI Piogiamme has been commissioneu by the ueiman Feueial Ninistiy foi Economic Co-
opeiation anu Bevelopment to suppoit selecteu subiegional initiatives in Asia - namely the
Pan-Beibu uulf Economic Coopeiation, uieatei Tumen Initiative, Cential Asia Regional Eco-
nomic Coopeiation anu uieatei Nekong Subiegion Economic Coopeiation Piogiamme - in oi-
uei to contiibute to the impiovement of coie piocesses of iegional economic coopeiation anu
integiation. We will heai biief intiouuctions to each initiative in the couise of this moining. 0ui
piogiamme suppoits iegional anu national stakeholueis in the context of those foui initiatives
$$ Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

to auuiess functional aspects of iegional coopeiation anu integiation by pioviuing capacity
builuing, oiganizing tiainings anu conuucting sectoi stuuies in the aieas of tiaue facilitation,
poit coopeiation anu cioss-boiuei coopeiation.
Nany goou piactices of iegional coopeiation anu integiation aie cieateu within Asia. Touays
expeit foium seives as a platfoim to make such existing knowleuge accessible anu to enable the
exchange of piofessional expeiience among coopeiation initiatives in the iegion. This peei-to-
peei leaining piocess is set to be uiiven by iegional souices of knowleuge - oi to be moie pie-
cise: by you. Now: All initiatives iepiesenteu heie touay can uiaw fiom a plethoia of valuable
expeiiences that aie specific foi theii iespective subiegion. Fiom oui unueistanuing, leaining is
multiuiiectional. What counts is that you shaie youi expeiiences that aie ielevant to youi peeis.
We unueitook the fiist steps in initiating such a uialogue exactly one yeai ago, heie in Bangkok,
when we helu oui fiist expeit foium anu biought togethei iepiesentatives fiom all foui subie-
gional initiatives. I am inueeu veiy pleaseu to see how much piogiess we have maue within the
last 12 months. 0ui goal was to iuentify common key challenges that woulu benefit fiom ie-
gional knowleuge shaiing anu to establish a netwoik foi fuithei coopeiation between the initia-
tives. Builuing on this, we have, foi example, caiiieu out a stuuy toui on cioss-boiuei economic
zones with iepiesentatives fiom Laos to viet Nam anu China. Fuitheimoie in the fiamewoik of
PBu we helu a woikshop on pioject management of cioss-boiuei coopeiation. In the fielu of
Single Electionic Winuow Implementation we oiganizeu a joint stuuy toui with paiticipants
fiom uTI anu CAREC membei countiies to Senegal.
Wheie we want to get at touay, is - by shaiing youi knowleuge anu expeiiences among one an-
othei - to expanu oui expeitise on emeiging issues in cioss-boiuei coopeiation anu tiaue facili-
tation anu encouiage ueepeneu communication anu uialogue between you beyonu touays
event. We stiongly believe in the uniqueness of this foimat anu its ielevance foi auvancing ie-
gional coopeiation anu integiation effoits in Asia, which aie consensually seen as key foi the
iegions futuie uevelopment. Let's tap this potential togethei anu look out foi conciete aieas foi
mutual leaining anu appioaches foi futuie collaboiation.
Let me close now by highlighting my wish foi the coming two uays to biing new insights foi all
of us anu a fiuitful peei-to-peei exchange. The flooi is all youis. Thank you veiy much.

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia $2

III# Expert 5earing *ummar

3#$ 6enote *peec(7 W'8 in Asia 9 8pportunities and C(allenges
:ein(ard 5ilf! ;ucerius La< *c(ool 5amburg
I. !gena o0 t)e 9inisterial Con0erence o0 t)e W&( in /ali 201$
0n the Agenua of the 9
th
Ninisteiial Confeience of the WT0 in Bali,
beginning on 29 Novembei 2u1S, two topics aie of paiticulai impoi-
tance: Cioss-Boiuei Coopeiation anu Tiaue Facilitation.
Cioss-boiuei Coopeiation in essence iefeis in the given context to
tiaue between two oi moie membeis of the WT0. This coopeiation
can take place in a moie oi less institutionaliseu fiamewoik such as
within a Regional Tiaue Agieement (RTA) oi a Piefeiential Tiaue Agieement (PTA) anu can be
oiganiseu bilateially oi multilateially.
The othei topic is Tiaue Facilitation: Each tiaue tiansaction acioss the boiueis of WT0 mem-
beis is channelleu thiough foimal pioceuuies ielating to impoit anu expoit tiansactions gov-
eineu by national oi - in exceptional cases - by inteinational iegulations.
Both topics will be auuiesseu at the upcoming 9
th
Ninisteiial Confeience in Bali between the S
anu 7 of Becembei 2u1S. It is still uncleai in which context RTA anu PTA will be uiscusseu as
theie is a ueep conflict between the basic Nost-favouieu Nation (NFN) - Piinciple as couifieu in
Ait. I al. 1 WT0 Agieement anu the evei giowing piactice of all WT0 membeis - with the nota-
ble exception of Nongolia - to cieate anu upholu piefeiential tiaue ielations with one oi moie
WT0 membeis. It is estimateu that alieauy moie than Su% of woilu tiaue tiansactions aie
channelleu within these special fiamewoiks.
The seconu topic uuiing the WT0 Bali Confeience iefeiiing to the facilitation of tiaue pioce-
uuies is also a iemainuei of the ovei-boaiuing agenua of WT0. Buiing the Ninisteiial Confei-
$3 Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

ences in Singapoie in 2uu4, it was ueciueu to fiist tackle the ielatively unpioblematic issue of
tiaue facilitation. 0bviously WT0 membei countiies uiu not expect too many funuamental uif-
feiences in this aiea as theie is a shaieu inteiest in tianspaient anu consistent customs pioce-
uuies at the boiueis of eveiy WT0 membei. This inteiest ielates to agiee on binuing commit-
ments foiall WT0 membeis who aie mutuallyinteiesteu in an "expeuite movement, ielease anu
cleaiance of goous" (WT0 2uu4), as explicateu in the "}uly Package" of 2uu4, baseu on an effi-
cient coopeiation between all membeis of the WT0. It seems that this can be aiiangeu without
any fai-ieaching concessions in othei substantive oi buugetaiy matteis. Anu in effect, the 9
th
Ninisteiial Confeience of Bali will be seizeu with a complete uiaft of an Agieement on Tiaue
Facilitation (ATF) (seepaiagiaph III).
The WT0 as a successoi of the ueneial Agieement on Taiiffs anu Tiaue (uATT) of 1947 was
founueu in 1994 at the conclusion of the 0iuguay Rounu. The founuing uocument hau fiist been
signeu by 11u contiacting states of the uATT who theieby became founuing membeis of the
WT0 as of }anuaiy 1, 199S. Paiallel to Ait. XXXIII uATT, fuithei accessions weie foieseen by Ait.
XII of the WT0 Agieement (WT0 1994) on the basis of a uecision of the Ninisteiial Confeience
with a two-thiius majoiity. Thus the WT0 has since beenon the way to become a univeisal oi-
ganisation. The most spectaculai pioceuuies of accession took place in 2uu1 in the case of the
People's Republic (PR) of China anu in 2u12 in the case of the Russian Feueiation - both being
amongst the leauing tiauing countiies woiluwiue.
Befoie the final uecision of accession can be taken, the acceuing state has to accept all conui-
tions which aie moie oi less imposeu by the othei WT0 membeis. Refeiiing to both of these
accessions theWT0 Secietaiiat has publisheu voluminous iepoits of the woiking gioups uocu-
menting the iespective uelibeiations on S76 pages in the case of PR China anu on 612 pages in
the case of the Russian Feueiation (see uocument WTACCR0S 7u with affluent annexes). In
effect, these uelibeiations leauing to the final Piotocolof Accession aie the last chance to enfoice
ceitain conuitions with iespect to any acceuing membei of the WT0. 0nce the final uecision has
been maue anu the new membei enteis the WT0, the iule of consensus will make it uifficult in
the futuie to satisfy any fuithei outstanuing inteiests.
The PR China has negotiateu foi eight yeais to become a membei of WT0. In the Russian case it
took 18 yeais. Some obseiveis holu that these pioceuuies leauing to the final uecision in the
enu aie unfaii, costly anu complex as theie is no iight to entei the WT0 unuei ceitain guaian-
teeu teims oi conuitions. Bespite this ciiticism, WT0 pioceeus to become a univeisal oiganiza-
tion in which the basic piinciples anu iules goveining the inteinational tiaue of its membeis aie
to govein the entiie woilu tiauing system.

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia $4

II. Is a system o0 regional cooperation0rien or 0oe o0 t)e W&(:
Bue to the stagnation of the Boha Rounu anu uisappointing outcomes of some of the Ninisteiial
Confeiences tiying to iefoim anu uevelop the WT0, membeis of the WT0 staiteu to negotiate
anu concluue specific bilateial oi multilateial agieements on tiaue of goous anuoi on seivices.
In some cases these agieements have been expanueu to non-tiauitional fielus such as enviion-
mental issues, investment, goveinment piocuiement, technical baiiieis to tiaue anu otheis
which aie coineu "WT0-Plus" agieements anu aie often embeuueu in specific political anu cul-
tuial agenuas. A special Committee on Regional Tiaue Agieements (CRTA) was entiusteu in
1996 to list anu classify the iespective agieements in the Regional Tiaue Agieements Infoima-
tion System.
In Becembei 2u1S the Committee will list 21S final agieements, some of them incluuing "WT0-
Plus" topics. Anu still, theie is an ongoing tienu to negotiate fuithei agieements to stiengthen
iegional tiaue ielations. All in all howevei, no consensus has yet emeigeu whethei such ie-
gional agieements shoulu be classifieu as builuing blocks of a univeisal systemoi iathei as
stumbling blocks, pieventing the establishment of such a system. Beyonu uoubt, woiluwiue
coopeiation anu tiaue aie necessaiy anu inevitable. Noieovei, it seems veiy notewoithy that
neaily all existing RTA oi PTA aie successful in geneiating auuitional gioss uomestic piouuct
(uBP) anu ueveloping new uimensions of foieign tiaue. 0f couise, a lot of confusion uue to non-
haimonizeu stanuaius anu iegulations exists anu is in some cases foiming a iathei chaotic net-
woik of uiveiging tiaue iules mostly in sensitive aieas suchas iules of oiigin oi of valuation.
The cuiient confusion will ceitainly fuithei mushioom until WT0 membei countiies might ie-
alise that new iules aie inevitable in the context of an inteinational institution such as WT0.
Thus - in a iathei uistant uay - we might see a soit of "WT0 II", haimonising these auuitional
iules into one univeisal agieement. RTA thus have a chance to uevelop anu eventually establish
auuitional elements of a new woiluwiue tiaue iegime.
III. &)e !greement o0 Worl &rae 8acilitation
As it seems by now the only tangible iesult of the 9
th
Ninisteiial Confeience in Bali 2u1S will
bethe uiafting anu signing of the ATF.I expect only veiy few substantial issues in the final vei-
sion thus making it easy foi all WT0 membeis to agiee. But at the enu itmay countei the feai
that giowing iegionalism may suffocate the WT0 (&ald2in/T#ornton 2008: 8!. The moie WT0
membeis aie involveu in new bilateial oi iegional iegulations, the moie they might become
ieauy to join a multilateial effoit to establish new common anu ueepei iules in oiuei to give
woilu tiaue a moie stable, intense anu tianspaient basis.
Ceitainly only customs facilitation is not in the centie of the iegulation of woilu tiaue. Anu any
bilateial oi multilateial agieement may ceitainly neeu moie iesouices foi negotiation anu
$& Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

theieby in some cases leau to chaotic netwoiks which by theii veiy natuie will imply moie
tiansaction costs.
The main issues in the Biaft ATF concein tianspaiency anu consistency iegaiuing basic cus-
toms pioceuuies anu mutual commitments to "expeuite movement, ielease anu cleaiance of
goous". In auuition theie aie pioposals foi classification, uefinition of oiigin anu valuation of
tiaueu goous. A numbei of othei iules concein the acceleiateu hanuling of goous incluuing a
pie-aiiival piocessing fiamewoik. This is impoitant to guaiantee just-in-time ueliveiies.
"Simplifying foimalities" is a majoi goal of the AFT incluuing the encouiagement of WT0 mem-
beis to establish a Single Winuow system in oiuei to eliminate ieuunuancy foi tiaueis, to im-
piove efficiency ielating to the inteiaction with the peispective goveinment anu to facilitate the
cooiuination with multiple goveinmental agencies. It is estimateu that theie is a global auui-
tional value of 67 billion 0SB foi the global uBP once the lean pioceuuies of the ATF will be
completely implementeu (3ecreu4/Fonta5ne 20%%: 6!. Foi each national system it can be stateu
that the new pioceuuies will help to tiansfoim anu moueinise the futuie hanuling of inteina-
tional tiaue. All in all the AFT pioves to be an impoitant uocument. We can openly state that the
WT0 still has an impoitant vocation foi the facilitation of customs pioceuuies.
Thank you.
Re0erences
&ald2in, 7ic#ard /T#ornton, P#il (2008!:Nultilateialising Regionalism: Iueas foi a WT0 Action Plan on Regionalism. CEPR Policy
Repoit.
3ecreu4, 89an/Fonta5n:, -ionel(20%%!: Economic Impact of Potential 0utcome of the Boha Bevelopment Agenua (BBA), Woiking
Papeis 2u11-2S, CEPII Reseaich Centei.
0o;s:, '/, T/ ,rliac and P/ 0inor (20%%!: Tiaue Facilitation Inuicatois: The Impact on Tiaue Costs, 0ECB Tiaue Policy Papeis, No. 118,
0ECB Publishing: http:ux.uoi.oig1u.1787Skg6nk6S4hmi-en
$orld Trade ,r5anisation (*8!: Regional Tiaue Agieements Infoimation System (RTA-IS), online available fiom
http:itais.wto.oiguiPublicNaintainRTABome.aspx
$orld Trade ,r5anisation (200!: Becisions auopteu by the ueneial Council on 1 August 2uu4. 0nline available fiom
http:www.wto.oigenglishtiatop_euua_euiaft_text_gc_ug_S1julyu4_e.htm
$orld Trade ,r5anisation (%66!: Agieement on Establishing the Woilu Tiaue 0iganisation. 0nline available fiom
http:www.wto.oigenglishuocs_elegal_eu4-wto_e.htm
$orld Trade ,r5anisation (20%<!: Agieement on Tiaue Facilitation. Auopteu at the Ninisteiial Confeience Ninth Session. 0nline
available fiom http:uocs.wto.oiguol2fePagesSSuiiectuoc.aspx.filename=q:WTNIN1SS6.puf

3#2 'able 'al/7 Regional Initiatives in
3#2#$ Central Asia Regional Economic
The Cential Asia Regional Economic Co
initiative of ten membei countiies piomo
at giowth anu poveity ieuuction. Almo
have been implementeu in the foui coie
sion of the People's Republic of China an
anu Inuia anu Pakistan to the south, thei
membei countiies to emeige as a centie
nomic giowth, anu ieuuce poveity. CAR
significant potential by piomoting iegion
Fact ;ox CAREC
8oune 1997
9em+er Countries Afghanistan, Azeiba
anu Innei Nongolia)
*opulation ca. S47,uuu,uuu
,oal Cieate bettei connec
life foi all, anu
8ocus !reas Tianspoit, tiaue fac
Serves as A uiiving foice to en
foi iegional econom
ives in t(e *potlig(t
onomic Cooperation =CAREC>
egional Economic Coopeiation (CAREC) Piogiamme is an ABB sup
bei countiies piomoting iegional uevelopment thiough coopeiation
ity ieuuction. Almost 14u CAREC-ielateu piojects woith ovei $21
nteu in the foui coie aieas of coopeiation. With the iapiu economic
Republic of China anu }apan to the east, the Russian Feueiation to the
tan to the south, theie seems to be an unpieceuenteu oppoitunity foi
o emeige as a centie of tiaue anu commeice, achieve highei levels
ieuuce poveity. CAREC helps Cential Asia anu its neighbouis iealiz
by piomoting iegional coopeiation.
Afghanistan, Azeibaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyigyz Republic, Nongolia, Pakistan, PR China (Xi
anu Innei Nongolia), Tajikistan, Tuikmenistan anu 0zbekistan
ca. S47,uuu,uuu
Cieate bettei connectivity thioughout the CAREC iegion, inciease tiaue, impiove the qu
life foi all, anu achieve piogiess towaiu eneigy efficiency, secuiity, anu tiaue
Tianspoit, tiaue facilitation, eneigy, anu tiaue policy
A uiiving foice to encouiage economic coopeiation among the membei countiies
foi iegional economic coopeiation
ion in Asia $+

is an ABB suppoiteu
thiough coopeiation aimeu
cts woith ovei $21 billion
the iapiu economic expan-
ian Feueiation to the noith,
teu oppoitunity foi CAREC
chieve highei levels of eco-
its neighbouis iealize theii
akistan, PR China (Xinjiang
tiaue, impiove the quality of
bei countiies anu a platfoim
$" Regional Economic Coopera
3#2#2 2an?;eibu 3ulf =2;3> Economi
The Pan-Beibu uulf (PBu) Economic Co
Inuonesia, Nalaysia, the Philippines, Sing
the ABB in 2uu6. 0vei time the PBu init
the Association of Southeast Asian Nati
Piogiamme, PBu iepiesents one of the
uNS suppoits coopeiation mainly in th
initiative is intenueu to focus on coopei
southein coastal piovinces, theiefoie pu
opeiation.
Fact ;ox 2;3
8oune 2uu6
9em+er Countries Biunei Baiussalam,
uuanguong, anu Bai
*opulation ca. S74,uuu,uuu
,oal Complement othei o
that aie not coveieu
8ocus !reas Poits anu logistics, f
human iesouice anu
Serves as A stiong anu impoit

operation and Integration in Asia
onomic Cooperation

(PBu) Economic Coopeiation was jointly launcheu by Biunei Ba
, the Philippines, Singapoie, viet Nam, People's Republic of China (PRC
ei time the PBu initiative has expanueu to incluue all 1u membei st
outheast Asian Nations (ASEAN). Next to the uNS Economic Coope
piesents one of the two majoi pillais of ASEAN-PRC coopeiation.
eiation mainly in the continental pait of the ASEAN-PRC iegion, th
u to focus on coopeiation between the oceanic pait of ASEAN anu C
ovinces, theiefoie putting stiong emphasis on maiitime tiaue anu p
Biunei Baiussalam, Cambouia, Inuonesia, Lao PBR, Nalaysia, Nyanmai, PR China (uuan
anu Bainan), the Philippines, Singapoie, Thailanu anu viet Nam
ca. S74,uuu,uuu
Complement othei ongoing subiegional coopeiations involving ASEAN by taigeting foc
that aie not coveieu yet in oiuei to boost iegional coopeiation anu integiation
Poits anu logistics, finance, tiaue anu investment facilitation, touiism, enviionmental pi
human iesouice anu piivate sectoi uevelopment
A stiong anu impoitant economic paitneiship within the fiamewoik of ASEAN-PRC coo
heu by Biunei Baiussalam,
epublic of China (PRC), anu
ue all 1u membei states of
NS Economic Coopeiation
coopeiation. While
PRC iegion, the PBu
pait of ASEAN anu China's
aiitime tiaue anu poit co-
mai, PR China (uuangxi,
EAN by taigeting focus aieas
sm, enviionmental piotection,
PRC coopeiation
3#2#3 3reater 'umen Initiative =3'I>
The uieatei Tumen Initiative (uTI), oii
Piogiamme, is an inteigoveinmental coo
tiative is nameu aftei the Tumen Rivei
tiaue anu eneigy ioutes. In 199S, uTI me
common platfoim, aimeu at stiengthen
gieatei giowth anu sustainable uevelopm
Tumen Region. The uTI woiks closely w
the iegion. The oiganisation hosts both t
eiation initiatives among local goveinm
tion, a iegional uevelopment financing m
Fact ;ox 3'I
Esta+lis)e 199u - 1991
9em+er Countries Nongolia, PR China
Russian Feueiation
*opulation ca. 142,uuu,uuu
,oal Builu a gieat paitne
tion unuei the uTI fi
*riority Sectors Tianspoit infiastiuc
eneigy policy cooiui
Serves as A platfoim foi iegio

Foi moie uetaileu infoimation on the abo
CAREC: 222/carecpro5ra(/or5 anu
PBu: 222/adb/or5/pro=ects/>002
uTI: 222/tu(enpro5ra((e/or5


Initiative (uTI), oiiginally known as the Tumen Rivei Aiea Bevelo
teigoveinmental coopeiation mechanism suppoiteu by the 0NBP. T
ei the Tumen Rivei, which connects the iegion at the ciossio
utes. In 199S, uTI membei goveinments signeu agieements to establi
aimeu at stiengthening economic anu technical coopeiation anu att
sustainable uevelopment in Noith-East Asia (NEA) especially in the u
uTI woiks closely with impoitant inteinational paitneis to jointly pi
nisation hosts both the Local Coopeiation Committee which suppoits
ong local goveinments anu the NEA Expoit-Impoit (EXIN) Banks A
lopment financing mechanism.

Nongolia, PR China (Liaoning, }ilin, Beilongjiang, anu Innei Nongolia), Republic of Koie
Russian Feueiation (Piimoisky Teiiitoiy)
ca. 142,uuu,uuu
Builu a gieat paitneiship foi common piospeiity between neighbouis anu stiengthen c
tion unuei the uTI fiamewoik to inciease mutual benefit
Tianspoit infiastiuctuie anu connectivity, iegional tiaue anu investment piomotion, to
eneigy policy cooiuination, enviionmental sustainability
A platfoim foi iegional economic coopeiation
foimation on the above mentioneu subiegional initiatives please iefe
anu 222/adb/or5/countries/subre5ional-pro5ra(s/care
>002-00%/details
ion in Asia $)

n Rivei Aiea Bevelopment
iteu by the 0NBP. The ini-
at the ciossioaus of vital
gieements to establish this
coopeiation anu attaining
A) especially in the uieatei
paitneis to jointly piomote
ittee which suppoits coop-
poit (EXIN) Banks Associa-
lia), Republic of Koiea, anu
uis anu stiengthen coopeia-
stment piomotion, touiism,
nitiatives please iefei to:
ra(s/carec
$, Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia
3#2#4 3eneral -iscussion

Aftei each of the thiee subiegional initiatives weie biiefly piesenteu
by one iepiesentative, paiticipants uiscusseu the following two guiu-
ing questions:
Fro( t#e perspecti9e of t#e subre5ional initiati9e t#at +ou are rep-
resentin5 #ere toda+, 2#at are t#e essential in5redients to (a?e suc#
an initiati9e 2or?@
An t#e spirit of peer-to-peer e4c#an5e, 2#at can +ou learn fro(
ot#er subre5ional initiati9es t#at are asse(bled #ere toda+@
In teims of question one; paiticipants iuentifieu institutional set-up,
efficient implementation piocesses, tianspaiency of pioject selection anu coheience between
national anu iegional inteiests as essential ingieuients to make a subiegional initiative woik. In
teims of question two, paiticipants weie veiy inteiesteu in each othei's woik anu
institutional stiuctuies anu suggesteu exchange piogiammes foi staff membeis of the initiatives.
Foi example thiough seconuments, membeis of one initiative coulu gain hanus-on expeiience in
cooiuination oi pioject management appioaches of anothei peei initiative, which might be ap-
plicable foi theii own initiative too. The RCI piogiamme, jointly with its paitneis, will suppoit
the iuea of seconuments uuiing the yeai 2u14.

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 2%

3#3 Caravan7 Emerging Issues in t(e *ector

3#3#$ Cross?;order Economic 4ones @ *pecial Economic 4ones in a Regional Environment
.uan .iming! Center for *pecial Economic 4one Researc(! *(enA(en Bniversit

/ackgroun
Expoit giowth anu uiveisification thiough integiation into the intei-
national economy has benefitteu a iising numbei of ueveloping
economies, whose expoit-oiienteu uevelopment stiategies have up-
lifteu them to the status of uevelopeu nations. Especially in Asian
countiies, such as the gioup of so-calleu "tigei" anu "panthei" states,
expoit piomotion policies playeu a ciucial iole in most but not all
cases in sustaining long-teim giowth iates. This was mainly achieveu
by fosteiing sequences of investment, innovation, anu poveity ieuuction anu enabling these
countiies' economies to pass thiough a tiansition fiom uepenuency on piimaiy goous piouuc-
tion to vital manufactuiing expoiteis.
Besigneu to attiact foieign investment anu ieuuce business costs, cioss-boiuei economic zones
(CBEZ), as centies of economic activity, seive as effective vehicles foi outwaiu-oiienteu giowth
anu impiovement of mutual coopeiation anu unueistanuing, whilst ueepening iegional eco-
nomic integiation. Bowevei, while beaiing gieat potential foi economic uevelopment, an aue-
quate uesign, cleai policy fiamewoiks as well as sufficient iegulatoiy anu auministiative
knowleuge aie ciucial foi the successful implementation.
Especially against the backgiounu of vaiious CBEZ appioaches in the iegion, such as in China,
viet Nam, Cambouia anu Laos, anu theii embeuueuness in an incieasingly complex economic
enviionment, it is necessaiy to facilitate inteinational knowleuge exchange anu to stiengthen
national capacities to effectively manage the economic policy tool at hanu.

2$ Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

*oints 0rom t)e general iscussion
Paiticipants auuiesseu two main topics in theii uiscussion:
Factois of success: The case of SEZ Shenzhen
Piof. Yuan intiouuceu the case of Shenzhen asquasi CBEZ. Within Su yeais, Shenzhen has uevel-
opeu iapiuly to become an impoitant Reseaich anu Bevelopment (R&B) centie as well as a
manufactuiing base foi China, owning the woilu's fouith laigest containei poit anu China's
fouith laigest aiipoit. Noieovei, uBP giowth has been iemaikably high while piouuction has
shifteu fiom piimaiy to seconuaiy anu teitiaiy inuustiy sectois at a tiemenuous pace, inuicat-
ing a high speeu of inuustiialisation. The following factois weie iuentifieu by paiticipants as
contiibutois to success:
Introuction o0 market mec)anism6 Shenzhen effectively bioke the planneu piice sys-
tem as the fiist city in China. In 198u, it staiteu to ease iestiictions on piices of some
commouities, theieby intiouucing the maiket as piice setting mechanism.
,overnment support6 The local goveinment staiteu effoits to attiact foieign uiiect in-
vestment (FBI) thiough piefeiential tax agieements anu measuies to piotect saiu in-
vestments. The coipoiate income tax foi instance was loweieu fiom Su to 1S%, with
fuithei tax cuts foi companies utilising leauing technology foi instance. As a iesult, FBI
incieaseu fiom $S million in 198u to $1,S1 anu $4,uS billion in 199S anu 2uu8, iespec-
tively. Fuitheimoie, local anu feueial goveinments suppoiteu the evolvement of the
Shenzhen SEZ by continuously upgiauing the on-site infiastiuctuie.
Institutional set up6 In 198S, Shenzhen founueu the fiist foieign cuiiency exchange
tiansaction centie, effectively enabling foieign capital to be investeu easiei in local in-
uustiy. This step hau been pieceueu by allowing the establishment of foieign bank
bianches in Shenzhen. Noieovei, stock capitalisation of state-owneu companies (S0E) -
as well unseen in China at that time - was intiouuceu, making S0Es moie attiactive to
foieign investois. Lastly, Shenzhen hau staiteu to impiove anu - moie impoitantly -
simplify auministiative management systems of the city, a majoi chaiacteiistic of any
successful SEZ.
;eig)+ouring Hong 1ong6 The economic success of Shenzhen neeus to at least pai-
tially be contiibuteu to the economic poweihouse Bong Kong. Noie piecisely, comple-
mentaiy auvantages with Bong Kong can be founu which have been veiy impoitant to
the uevelopment of the Shenzhen SEZ. Shenzhen anu Bong Kong have since been en-
gageu in a so calleu "Shop Fiont, Back Factoiy"-mouel (see figuie 1). As Shenzhen owns
a compaiative auvantage in qualifieu laboui ovei Bong Kong, piouuction is conse-
quently caiiieu out in Shenzhen, while management - an asset Bong Kong holus ovei
Shenzhen - is unueitaken in Bong Kong.


Fi5ure %: Shop Fiont, Back Factoiy
2oint pu+lic transportation 4it) Hong 1ong: Not only FBI flows fieely anu in laige
amounts to Shenzhen, but also the exchange of the iespective woik foice is manageu in
a smooth way. Bong Kong anu Shenzhen aie connecteu with joint public tianspoitation,
making it easy anu convenient to cioss the boiuei.
Commuting special pass6 Woikeis, living in Shenzhen anu Bong Kong with theii woik-
place in the iespective othei city, have a special pass which allows them to pass the boi-
uei in veiy simple fashion. With the help of a uigitalsystem whichiecognises the fingei
piint of the passing peison anu consequently allows them to cioss the boiuei, the tian-
sition piocess is oiganiseu veiy smoothly.
C)eap prouction 0acilities: Accoiuing to Piof. Yuan, Shenzhen offeieu piouuction fa-
cilities at veiy competitive piices to investois.
3ocation near transportation )u+s: The special economic zone Shenzhen benefits
enoimously fiom its aujacency to a poit anu aiipoit. Business logistics can be planneu
easily anu caiiieu out at low cost.
Challenges foi setting up CBEZ
Issues o0 sovereignty6 The fiee flow of piouuction factois - the key chaiacteiistic of a
CBEZ - is associateu with mutual tiansfei of soveieignty. Nanagement of people anu
goous ciossing the boiuei, as well as customs anu inspection iequiie joint effoits which
aie sensitive anu sometimes uifficult to achieve. Bigh mutual political tiust is thus inuis-
pensible.
Complexity o0 set<up6 Establishing a CBEZ involves complex pioblems anu challenges
with iegaius to customs supeivision, inuustiial planning, stanuaiu confoimance as well
as auministiative anu juuicial management. As most cases aie unique, challenges neeu
to be solveu via a "tiial anu eiioi" appioach, because no geneial solution exists. Nany
local anu national authoiities lack the capacity anu iesouices to conuuct such piocesses.
23 Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

&rans0er o0 legislative rig)t6 Paiticipants iuentifieu uifficulties in the tiansfei of legis-
lative powei fiom cential to local goveinments. In oiuei to finu moie suitable solutions
at the boiuei, iights neeu to be given to local authoiities, a piocess which tuins out to be
uifficult in many states.
5i00ering preconitions6 Paiticipants mentioneu uiffeiing pieconuitions in many aieas
as majoi obstacle foi coopeiation thiough CBEZ. Saiu uiffeiing pieconuitions often make
negotiations on the teims of the establishment of a CBEZ moie complicateu.
5i00ering eman6 Paiticipants founu unceitainty about uemanu a majoi challenge to
the establishment of CBSEZ. As a consequence, negotiations about the piouuction stiuc-
tuie tuin out to be moie complex.
Intermeiate conclusions
Revival o0 SE-s6 CBSEZ anu SEZ in geneial aie highly ielevant instiuments to uevelop
economies in ceitain aieas anu have ietuineu to the centie of attention uue to theii suc-
cess. In iecent yeais, they have tuineu out to be of high impoitance, as the auueu-value
cieateu within the zones has incieaseu ielative to the past.
SE- S)en=)en > a regional +est practice6 Shenzhen can be consiueieu a best piactice
case uue to the shift fiom a planneu towaius a maiket-oiienteu economy, the eaily at-
tempts to libeialise the capital maiket, anu ongoing goveinment suppoit.
?sage o0 SE- to test6 SEZ seem veiy useful foi pilot piojects. In vaiious ways this can be
seen in Shenzhen, testing giounu foi multiple iefoims which weie then implementeu at
the national level.

3#3#2 A*EAC Economic Communit =AEC> and ;eond
'(anes *uc(ari/ul! Assumption Bniversit of '(ailand

/ackgroun
In 2uuS, the ASEAN membei countiies agieeu to ueepen economic
integiation with the foimation of the AEC which aims to cieate a sin-
gle maiket anu piouuction base uiiven by a fiee flow of goous, sei-
vices, foieign uiiect investment, skilleu laboui, anu a fieei flow of
capital. In 2uu9, the ASEAN leaueis issueu the Roaumap foi the
ASEAN Community (2uu9-1S), containing bluepiints foi the AEC,
which they hau auopteu in 2uu7. The AEC Bluepiint encompasses a
stiategic scheuule which lays uown veiy specific measuies to achieve the AEC by 2u1S. Al-
though the ASEAN community alieauy shows impiessive piogiess to meet the iequiiements of
the AEC Bluepiint, ASEAN's vision of cieating a tiuly integiateu economic community iemains
highly ambitious. Paiticulaily, an inauequate institutional fiamewoik, political opposition, anu
economic uiveigence between membei states stanu in the way of an effective implementation of
the AEC by the enu of 2u1S.

In oiuei to analyse piogiess, challenges, anu piospects of the AEC, paiticipants of the session
"ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) anu Beyonu" uiscusseu foui guiuing questions:
(1) What is AEC.
The main question iaiseu by paiticipants was whethei the AEC is a pait anu paicel oigan of the
ASEAN, oi meiely one of the objectives which ASEAN stiives to achieve. Ni. Suchaiikul pointeu
out that it can be seen in both ways. Fiist, as a pait of ASEAN, since the ASEAN Chaitei - which
is the constituent ASEAN Instiument that tuins ASEAN fiom a meie association into a full-
fleugeu inteinational oiganisation - has seveial piovisions to that effect. Seconu, it can simply
be iegaiueu as the objectives which the ASEAN stiives to achieve (see question 2 foi uetaileu
infoimation).
(2) What aie the objectives of the AEC.
The AEC's objectives aie implieu by the Beclaiation of ASEAN Concoiu II (Bali Concoiu II) (2uuS)
as well as the ASEAN Chaitei (2uu7) anu can be summaiiseu as follows:
Single maiket anu piouuction base
Fiee flow of goous, seivices, anu investment
Fiee movement of business peisons, piofessionals, talents, anu laboui
Fieei flow of capital
Naiiowing the uevelopment gap among membei countiies
Incieasing intia-ASEAN tiaue
Reuucing ASEAN competition in foieign maikets
Centiality anu pioactive iole of ASEAN as the piimaiy uiiving foice in its ielations anu coop-
eiation with its exteinal paitneis
(S) Bow can these objectives be achieveu.
The main ASEAN instiumentspiovisions to concietize the afoiementioneu objectives compiise
among otheis:
!&I,! "!SE!; &rae in ,oos !greement@ 200A#
o Beals with tiaue in goous
o Compilation of essences of vaiious agieements uealing with tiaue in goous unuei the
WT0 (Woilu Tiaue 0iganization) into a single ASEAN Instiument, especially the uATT
(ueneial Agieement on Taiiffs anu Tiaue)
o Refeience has to be maue to the uATT in the case of silence oi uoubt; anu in case of con-
flict, the uATT shall pievail
o With iespect to maiket access, it seems notewoithy that, accoiuing to ATIuA Aiticle 19,
theie aie as many as 8 Scheuules foi libeialisation (S foi elimination, 1 foi elimination
oi ieuuction at the ASEAN Nembei States' own accoiu, S foi ieuuctions, anu 1 foi excep-
tions foi elimination oi ieuuction)
o With iespect to non-uisciimination, the stiiking uiffeience fiom uATT is that unuei
ATIuA the piinciple with iespect to non uisciimination is not unconuitional in the sense
2& Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

of the uATT. It is a unilateial NFN (most favouieu nation appioach) which is unique in
the sense that it is neithei conuitional NFN, if iecipiocity is the essence, noi unconui-
tional NFN, if automaticity is the iule.
o The unilateial NFN can be seen in ATIuA Aiticle S which pioviues that $it# respect to
i(port duties, after t#is A5ree(ent enters into force, if a 0e(ber "tate enters into an+
a5ree(ent 2it# a non-0e(ber "tate 2#ere co((it(ents are (ore fa9ourable t#an t#at
accorded under t#is A5ree(ent, t#e ot#er 0e(ber "tates #a9e t#e ri5#t to reBuest for ne-
5otiations 2it# t#at 0e(ber "tate to reBuest for t#e incorporation #erein of treat(ent no
less fa9ourable t#an t#at pro9ided under t#e aforesaid a5ree(ent/ T#e decision to e4tend
suc# tariff preference 2ill be on a unilateral basis/ T#e e4tension of suc# tariff preference
s#all be accorded to all 0e(ber "tates/
!8!S "!SE!; 8rame4ork !greement on &rae in Services@ 1%%B as amene in 200$#
o Applicable to tiaue in seivices
o Naiket access anu national tieatment uepenu on negotiations
o Biffeiences in teims of the level of economic uevelopment aie iecogniseu anu thus uif-
feient time fiames foi libeialisation aie alloweu. The iule of ASEAN minus X is applica-
ble wheieby ieauy ASEAN Nembei States may agiee to libeialise anu accoiu special
benefits among themselves without having to wait foi non-ieauy ASEAN Nembei States
o Bowevei, as fai as non-uisciimination is conceineu, the benefits that the ieauy ASEAN
Nembei States accoiueu among themselves shall not be automatically extenueu to the
non ieauy ASEAN Nembei States in the sense of unconuitional NFN unuei the uATS
(WT0 ueneial Agieement on Tiaue in Seivices); the extension, if any, shall be uone on a
voluntaiy basis on the pait of the ieauy ASEAN Nembei States
o This non uisciiminatoiy piovision can be seen in AFAS Aiticle Iv which pioviues that
*ot2it#standin5 t#e pro9isions of Article AC (unconditional 0F*! of t#is Fra(e2or?
A5ree(ent, t2o or (ore 0e(ber "tates (a+ conduct ne5otiations and a5ree to liberaliDe
trade in ser9ices for specific sectors or sub-sectors/ An+ e4tension of suc# preferential
treat(ent to t#e re(ainin5 0e(ber "tates on an 0F* basis s#all be 9oluntar+ on t#e part
of t#e participatin5 0e(ber "tates/
o This voluntaiy NFN, in a similai vein as the 'unilateial NFN' unuei the ATIuA Aiticle S
pieviously iefeiieu to, is unique in the sense that it is neithei conuitional NFN, if iecip-
iocity is the essence, noi unconuitional NFN, if automaticity is the iule.
!CI! "!SE!; Compre)ensive Investment !greement@ 200%#
o Coveis investments
o Inteinational stanuaius plus auuitional measuies. An example can be seen in the piovi-
sions with iespect to expiopiiation
o No expiopiiation except foi public puipose
o In auuition to that, theie shall be "just compensation" which is: piompt, auequate anu ef-
fective
o Expiopiiation shall incluue "measuies equivalent to expiopiiation oi nationalisation"
(4) What aie the challenges.
In light of the infoimation pioviueu in questions (1) to (S), the fouith question was passeu on by
Ni. Suchaiikul in oiuei to geneiate uiscussion anu analysis among paiticipants.
Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 2+

Ine00icient legal an institutional 0rame4ork6 AEC aims to inciease intia-ASEAN tiaue
anu to ieuuce the economic gaps among ASEAN Nembei States. Bowevei, the legal anu insti-
tutional fiamewoik is not yet optimiseu. Foi instance, Aiticle S of ATIuA allows an ASEAN
membei state to accoiu special tieatment to states outsiue the association without having to
accoiu the same tieatment to othei ASEAN membei states. Noieovei, Aiticle Iv of the AFAS
allows ASEAN membei states which aie willing to libeialise tiaue in seivices between them-
selves to apply a uiffeient tieatment of othei ASEAN membei states which aie not piepaieu
yet. If that is the case, how can ASEAN achieve the AEC goals by 2u1S. Shoulu ASEAN employ
the piinciple of unconuitional NFN as uone in the WT0.
Regulations an 0rame4orks are not )armonise yet6 ASEAN has a cleai taiget foi libei-
alising tiaue in goous by fixeu timefiames while at the same time it has as many as 8 Scheu-
ules foi the libeialisation (S foi elimination, 2 foi eliminationieuuction by ASEAN membei
states' own accoiu, 2 foi ieuuction, anu 1 foi exception to ieuuctionelimination).
Con0licting ealines an targets6 ASEAN is ueteimineu to achieve the AEC by pioviuing
cleai taiget uates foi tiaue in goous libeialisation, but at the same time it has a veiy flexible
piovision of safeguaiu measuies. Foi instance, ATIuA Aiticle 2S: 1 which pioviues, in es-
sence, that in case a membei state faces unfoieseen uifficulties in implementing its taiiff
commitments, this membei state may tempoiaiily mouify oi suspenu a concession containeu
in its scheuules unuei Aiticle 19 (ieuuction oi elimination of customs uuties). Such a safe-
guaiu measuie can be an incentive oi an impeuiment to achieve the AEC.
8&!s vs. economic integration6 While ASEAN membei states aie membeis of the WT0 anu
ASEAN, they also paiticipate in seveial FTAs, some of which have moie uepth anu bieauth in
tiaue libeialisation than in the hitheito Common Effective Piefeiential Taiiff (CEPT) anu
AFTA (ASEAN Fiee Tiaue Aiea). These FTAs may supplement oi hinuei the achievement of
the AEC. The opinions on this question uiffeieu wiuely anu paiticipants uiscusseu seveial
scenaiios. Foi instance, one paiticipant expiesseu that FTAs with outsiue states shoulu con-
tinue uespite the iisk of oveilapping anu conflicting obligations iesulting fiom the 'spaghetti
bowl' phenomenon because the agenuas in the WT0 oi in the ASEAN aie sometimes too
bioau anu uo not take into account specific subjects, neeus, anu inteiests of less affluent
membeis. Anothei paiticipant aigueu that an FTA with annon-membei state shoulu be uone
by means of ASEAN as a gioup vis--vis the outsiue state, otheiwise it is inevitable that theie
will be oveilappingconflicting iights anu obligations which iesult in uisciimination among
the ASEAN membei states.

2" Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

3#3#3 W'8 in Asia
:ein(ard 5ilf! ;ucerius La< *c(ool 5amburg

/ackgroun
The session on "WT0 in Asia" was openeu by a iefeience to the guiu-
ing piinciples of WT0 law iegaiuing cioss-boiuei coopeiation be-
tween WT0 membeis. The most impoitant piinciple of non-
uisciimination oi the NFN-clause is laiu uown in Ait. 1 al. 1 uATT
1947. This Agieement allows ceitain piefeiences anu exceptions in
the case of the foimation of customs union oi fiee tiaue aieas. The
ielevant aiticle ielating to the tiaue of goous is Ait. XXIv al. S (a) anu
al. (8) (i) uATT. A similai iule has been agieeu on foi tiaue in seivices, Ait. v uATT. The uiscus-
sion confiimeu that all Southeast Asian countiies weie involveu in coopeiation leauing to uif-
feient foims of integiation, sometimes coineu "Asian Regionalism". Bowevei, this piocess has
not weakeneu the incomplete multilateial iule-baseu system. At the same time, iesouices foi
negotiation have to be uiviueu between bilateial, iegional anu multilateial piocesses anu insti-
tutions.
It is not suipiising that eventually WT0 membeis weie unable to stop the tienu of cieating uif-
feient iules on the bilateial, iegional anu multilateial level. Against this backgiounu, a iathei
chaotic netwoik of tiaue iules anu iegulations has emeigeu which in some cases is peiceiveu as
a thieat to theglobal tiauing system. Neveitheless, paiticipants confiimeu that fiom a long-teim
peispective giowing anu uynamic tiaue at the bilateial oi iegional level woulu also benefit the
oveiall multilateial tiauing system. Neveitheless, ceitain tiaue-uiveiting effects cannot be ig-
noieu at the same time anu will ceitainly have theii iepeicussions in the tiaue statistics of all
WT0 membeis. Some of the paiticipants unueilineu that only the mouein concept of "open ie-
gionalism" woulu be in accoiuance with WT0 law. This paiallels the geneial view on Asian ie-
gionalism.
The seconu main issue of the uiscussion ielateu to the ATF that hau been uiafteu foi the 9
th

WT0 Ninisteiial Confeience in Bali. It ielates to all types of foieign tiaue opeiations, be it on the
bilateial, the iegional oi on the multilateial level. Paiticipants highlighteu the paiticulai inteiest
anu often also the institutional involvement of the piivate sectoi in suppoiting but also obseiv-
ing the inteinational law-making activities. This involvement seems to be most impoitant foi
the legitimacy of the futuie law-making piocesses anu above all foi the effective implementa-
tion of any new customs pioceuuies. Thus, paiticipants highlighteu uiveise elements of the ATF
which might have its tiaue-cieating effects not all at once but ceitainly ovei a ceitain time when
new pioceuuies aie applieu moie fiequently.
Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 2)

*oints o0 t)e ,eneral 5iscussions an Conclusions
Aftei the inputs, a stock-taking ievealeu that all in all ten WT0 membei countiies weie iepie-
senteu in the session to uiscuss the cuiient state of WT0 in Asia. Among the uiscusseu cases
weie the challenging accession to WT0 of Nongolia in 1997 anu the uispute between the 0S anu
Inuonesia on the sale anu piouuction of tobacco goous (WTBS4uS). It was iefeiieu to the fact,
that most uisputes anu claims biought to the WT0 weie in fact non-iegional uisputes. This ie-
flects that ceitain issues apply foi Asian tiaue with the global economy iathei than the iegional
tiaue netwoik in Asia.
The consensus baseu fiamewoik of WT0 was on one hanu labelleu as veiy time consuming,
while onethe othei hanu, RTA with feweistakeholueis anu membei countiies involveu aie
much easiei to negotiate. This inuicates again the iole that RTA can play foi Asian integiation. In
compaiison to that, positive aspects of the WT0 system aie its stable iules anu iegulations, as
well as the uispute settlement system. WT0 pioviues a moie stiuctuieu aiena foi settling uis-
putes. This is especially tiue foi the Bispute Settlement Bouy (BSB) unuei the Bispute Settle-
ment 0nueistanuing (BS0) of the WT0. With iegaiu to RTA Piof. Bilf singleu out uATT Ait. XXIv
as an example foi the geneial flexibility of WT0 iegulations. uATT Ait. XXIv allows foi excep-
tions of WT0 law baseu on iegional pioximity, e.g. foi customs unions, anu fiee tiaue aieas. This
peimits the paiallel piocess of iegionalisation anu globalisation anu ieflects the acknowleuge-
ment of WT0 of the usefulness of RTA alongsiue WT0 membeiship.

2, Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

3#4 'al/s(o<7 ;eond Investment 9 Engaging t(e 2rivate *ector in 'rade Facilitation
:oderator7 2eter L# Fedon! *olutions Across ;oundaries Consultanc
/ackgroun
The piivate sectoi plays an impoitant iole in the uevelopment of effective tiaue facilitation
stiategies anu theii implementation beyonu investment alone. Public-piivate paitneiships
(PPPs) in tiaue facilitation contiibute to iuentify the neeus of goveinment anu tiaueis, impiov-
ing tianspaiency anu infoimation flows as well as piomoting viable anu sustainable tiaue facili-
tation solutions. Cuiient success stoiies piove that focus shoulu be placeu on an integiateu
stiategy that uoes not assume a "one-size-fits-all" appioach.
Against this backuiop, paiticipants uiscusseu a vaiiety of existing tiaue facilitation platfoims
which aie baseu on PPP, shaieu theii expeiiences, anu uebateu challenges that neeu to be tack-
leu in the aiea of tiaue facilitation.
The uiscussion staiteu with an analysis of public-piivate collaboiations, which aie often unuei-
utiliseu, because the piivate sectoi is not involveu in tiaue facilitation piojects fiom the veiy
beginning. Insteau, the public sectoi takes the leau anu ignoies the impoitance of non-state ac-
tois. Bowevei, the Nongolian expeiience uiffeieu, as Ns. Banuii fiom the Nongolian National
Chambei of Commeice anu Inuustiy (NNCCI) illustiateu. In a fiist step, the NNCCI oiganiseu
woikshops to infoim the piivate sectoi anu conuucteu a suivey baseu on inteiviews. In a sec-
onu step pilot piojects weie staiteu in coopeiation with 0NESCAP anu uIZ with the NNCCI as
implementing bouy foi the piivate sectoi. Since the piivate sectoi in Asia is often closely linkeu
to the public sectoi, the Nongolian example coulu seive as a best piactice appioach foi the ie-
gion.
Besiue piivate sectoi involvement, the panellists also uiscusseu the iole of consumeisanu othei
non-state actois in the fielu of tiaue facilitation. While global supply chains aie cieateu by busi-
nesses in oiuei to ensuie efficient piouuction, tianspoit, anu tiaue of goous, seveial govein-
ment activities aie neeueu to ensuie tax collection, auheience to health, safety, anu secuiity
Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 3%

uiiectives as well as confoimance with stanuaius. These iegulations benefit goveinment infia-
stiuctuie anu consumei piotection. Bowevei, they also inciease costs of goous anu thus con-
sumei piices, ueciease business piofits, anu sometimes even unueimine fuithei investments
fiom the piivate sectoi. Bence, collaboiation anu uialogue among both non state anu public
stakeholueis, enables the iuentification of baiiieis to tiaue anu the foimulation of stiategies to
iemove anu oveicome them. All panellists agieeu that it is ciucial to infoim consumeis about
tiaue facilitation measuies anu theii impact on piices anu consumei piotection.
In summaiy, it was agieeu that cooiuination among all involveu stakeholueis in the tiaue anu
tianspoit sectoi is essential to implement successful tiaue facilitation measuies. Functioning
cooiuination mechanisms incluue goveinment iegulatois, tiaueis, piivate sectoi tiaue intei-
meuiaiies, anu consumeis. Bonoi agencies can suppoit tiaue facilitation measuies by pioviuing
auvice, financial suppoit, anu stiengthening exchange anu uialogue.

3$ Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

-A. II

3#& Warm up *ession7 Implementation of *ingle Electronic Windo<
Andre 6uAnetsov! *imourg LLC
5ulan L(agvasuren! 3I4 :ongolia
/ackgroun
The main task of this waim-up session on implementation of the Sin-
gle Electionic Winuow (SEW) was to pioviue an oveiview of SEW anu
the basic components of its implementation in the national context.
The iemaiks weie aimeu at a wiuei auuience anu foi the piactitio-
neis befoie the fielu visit to the Royal Thai Customs SEW unit.
/ig t)ings are +est notice 0rom a istance
Cuiiently theie aie many Single Winuow (SW) ielateu piojects in the
woilu wheie implementation piocesses aie alieauy iunning foi many
yeais. To avoiu being misleu a ieview of piocesses is piesenteu in oiuei to iefiesh the whole
pictuie anu to uistinguish means fiom the goals. The main puipose of implementing a SW is
economic giowth iesulting fiom an incieaseu volume
of inteinational tiaue activities. The ways to achieve
these goals aie the simplification of piocesses neces-
saiy foi inteinational tiaue, automation of these
piocesses, anu impioving both the tianspaiency anu pieuictability of the state, e.g. impiove-
ment of business enviionment. Implementing a Single Electionic Winuow System is the mean by
which this piocess is happening.
Regulation o0 international trae
Almost eveiything that is uone in teims of ueveloping anu implementing a national SW system
is about the simplification of tiaue opeiations with iegaiu to baiiieis of cioss-boiuei pioce-
uuies anu iegulations. Imagining the inteinational system without boiueis anu the iespective
iegulations we woulu finu ouiselves in a situation, wheie a SW system may no longei be neeueu.
,oal
Economic uiowth thiough
incieaseu inteinational tiaue
9et)os
Simplification, Automation,
Impiovement
9ean: Single Electionic Winuow
But woulu that be feasible. We aie now
anu then fight its iesults. Why uo we uo t
The main ieason is in ensuiing the balan
hanu, anu piotection of the uomestic m
boiuei tiansactions is a mean to maintai
population fiom vaiious thieats.
Theie aie two soits of means to iegula
excise uuties anu taxes, while the othei o
licenses, quotations anu limits. Regulati
manageu in oiuei to get the maximum
bianches. The effect of the iegulation sh
shoulu be piomptly aujusteu as soon as a
Fi5ure 2:Regulation Loop
This shows the necessity of tiaue boiue
fiom anothei one.
E<government in0rastructure an /u
(peration
The e-uoveinment concept anu business
giounu foi the SEW. The main iuea to ue
facilitation initiatives, existing uepenuen
SEW piojects in vaiious countiies. A
automateu one-stop shops foi example.
The piopei SEW in fact uoes not pioviue
anu facilitate seivices pioviueu by othe
foim suitable foi paiticulai customeis.
Figuie S uemonstiates the place of the S
In teims of inteinational tiaue iegulatio
set up the iegulation iegime anu then m
opment, national Customs, Ninistiy of Ag
We aie now facing a situation wheie we fiist intiouuce iegu
ults. Why uo we uo this.
ng the balance between libeialisation of exteinal tiaue on t
n of the uomestic maiket on the othei. Fuitheimoie, iegulation of
is a mean to maintain the inteinal secuiity of the state anu safeguaiu

of means to iegulate tiaue: the fiist aie monetaiy in natuie
xes, while the othei ones aie non-monetaiy, incluuing the system of pe
anu limits. Regulation is necessaiy, but it shoulu be piopeily set u
o get the maximum effect fiom the both piotection anu the libeial
t of the iegulation shoulu be constantly monitoieu, anu iegulative p
aujusteu as soon as any inconsistency oi negative effect is uiscoveieu.

essity of tiaue boiueis anu piotectionism fiom one siue, anu libeial
ure an /usiness *rocess moel 0or international &rae
oncept anu business piocess oiienteu state mouel aie intiouuceu as a
. The main iuea to uemonstiate is the iole of the SEW among the othe
s, existing uepenuencies anu mistakes commonly maue when uefini
ious countiies. An example is substituting SW systems with semi
shops foi example.
fact uoes not pioviue any specific seivice itself; insteau, if helps to agg
es pioviueu by othei state (anu commeicial) entities, packaging the
iticulai customeis.
tes the place of the SEW systems among othei e-uoveinment compo
ional tiaue iegulation, theie aie piimaiy seivice pioviueis - enti
n iegime anu then maintain its opeiation (e.g. Ninistiy of Economic
stoms, Ninistiy of Agiicultuie anu so on). As the agencies fulfil theii ta
ion in Asia 32
e fiist intiouuce iegulation
tiaue on the one
imoie, iegulation of cioss-
state anu safeguaiuing the
taiy in natuie anu incluue
uing the system of peimits,
lu be piopeily set up anu
tion anu the libeialisation
ieu, anu iegulative policies
e effect is uiscoveieu.
one siue, anu libeialisation
onal &rae
el aie intiouuceu as a back-
SEW among the othei tiaue
ly maue when uefining the
ystems with semi- oi fully
steau, if helps to aggiegate
tities, packaging them in a
uoveinment components.
entities, which
inistiy of Economic Bevel-
agencies fulfil theii tasks,
33 Regional Economic Coopera
tiaueis aie often confionteu with vaiio
aiiangement of business piocesses anu p
ity of the agencies anu iemove unneeueu
Fi5ure <:E-uoveinment Components
As soon as this is uone, we can stait mak
cies, making it possible to seive oui custo
system. A piopei SW system shoulu invo
viueis. figuie 4 shows an example of in
components. As we see, the tiauei intei
teinal piocesses; in some cases tiauei m
Fi5ure : Inteinal Seivice Pioviueis
nfionteu with vaiious inconveniences anu even auuitional expense
iness piocesses anu piopei automation let us ensuie efficient inteiop
nu iemove unneeueu involvement of the tiauei in intei-agency ielatio

ne, we can stait making packages of the seivices pioviueu by vaiious
ble to seive oui customeis-tiaueis in one single place, thus iealising t
system shoulu involve (anu hiue fiom the tiauei) all inteinal seivic
ws an example of inteiaction between the tiauei anu the inteinal s
see, the tiauei inteiacts with SEW system that hiues the complexity
some cases tiauei may nevei contact any agency at all.
n auuitional expenses. Re-
suie efficient inteiopeiabil-
agency ielations.
pioviueu by vaiious agen-
place, thus iealising the SW
ei) all inteinal seivice pio-
ei anu the inteinal system
hiues the complexity of in-


5iscussion
In the uiscussion of the session thiee main questions have been uiscusseu with the paiticipants:
"What is single winuow.", "What uoes SEW pioviue." anu "What aie the main iisks of SEW". The
main goal was to examine peiception anu ieality of SW implementation anu to fuithei uiscuss
possible solutions foi pioblems at hanu.
"$#at is sin5le 2indo2@ "What uoes pioviue SEW." $#at are t#e (ain ris?s of "'$
Easing tiaue ielateu busi-
ness
Tiaue facilitation
Stieamlining pioceuuies
Reuuction of costs
Automateu system
Solving inteiagency piob-
lems
Less physical contacts
Reuuction of papeis
Incieasing tianspaiency
Simplification of customs
cleaiance
Licensing piocesses
A channel foi ieceiving
anu senuing infoimation

Easing tiaueis life
Facilitating PPP
Inciease employment in pii-
vate sectoi
Stieamlining tiaue pioceuuies
anu piotocols
Enabling papeiless tiaue
Reuucing tiansaction costs of
inteinational tiaue
Bata monitoiing
Simplify customs pioceuuies
Facilitate impoitexpoit pio-
ceuuies
Impiove tianspaiency
Incieaseu FBI
Incieaseu tiust
Incieaseu business competi-
tion
Inciease goveinment ievenue
Reuuceu coiiuption
Integiating goveinment sei-
vices
Enabling fastei compilation of
exteinal tiaue statistics

Lack of owneiship
Shoitage in financial iesouices
Neeu foi impiovement of legis-
lation
Financial sustainability
Incieaseu costs foi upuating IT
system
Cybeiciime anu uata secuiity
Lack of human iesouices
Conflicts of stakeholueis intei-
est
Reuuction of flexibility of use IT
systems
Too much of ieliance anu ue-
penuence on computeiization
Cieation of anothei tiaue bai-
iiei

$#at does "'$ pro9ide@: the vision of its impact lays on tiaueis' lives anu the state economy.
Since the significant shaie of the auuitoiy aie fiom the public sectoi, it pioveu useful to captuie
theii view. Nost inteiestingly, one of the infeiences uiawn fiom the uiscussion is a neeu to fui-
thei uiffeientiate between the uefinition of an SW anu what an SW can pioviue. While function-
3& Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

ality is wiuely unueistoou, the stiuctuie is not yet fully cleai. Anothei infeience is uiawn fiom
the focus of the uiscussion. While most public piactitioneis seem to focus on the local opeia-
tional challenges, the viewpoint of the piivate sectoi, e.g. impoiting anu expoiting inuustiies aie
not taken into consiueiation. Even though the actual ievenue is geneiateu fiom piivate business
opeiations. Thus we may face the situation when means substitute the goals.
$#at are t#e (ain ris?s of "'$: what may affect the tiaue oi the state secuiity if SEWs will
ieplace the existing mouel of cioss-boiuei inteiaction. The uiscussion then focuseu on iisk-
iuentification anu ieuuction if not elimination. valuable contiibutions stemmeu fiom the pai-
ticipants iefeiiing to ongoing SEW implementation piactices in theii home-countiies. The
shoitage of financial iesouices, the lack of qualifieu staff anu uata secuiity issues aie among the
most common aspects. At the same time, piivate sectoi actois usually feai that the SW will tuin
into anothei baiiiei, incluuing possible entiapments pione to ease coiiuption.
The often mentioneu iisk of financial sustainability highlights a common misunueistanuing of
the SW system: the view of the system as a business, which in itself has to be piofitable by the
collecteu ievenues. In fact the inciease of ievenues geneiateu foi the state buugeu by the SW
system has pioven to be significantly highei than the expenses to finance the SEW unit in the
fiist place. This highlights the impoitance of SEW implementation foi policy makeis anu legisla-
tois in the context of economic uevelopment.
Anothei pioblem that iequiies special attention is the conflict of stakeholueis' inteiests. Who
owns, opeiates anu uefines iules foi SEW opeiation in the multi-agency enviionment is uncleai
anu may leau to the conflicts between state agencies, which will always piove uisauvantageous
foi the piivate sectoi.
Recommenations an 0urt)er &opics o0 Interest
Baseu on the expeiience of the session theie seems to be at least thiee challenges foi piofes-
sionals conceineu with the implementation of SW systems that shoulu be fuithei auuiesseu.
Fiist, the seivice-oiienteu state mouel to tackle basic challenges in teims of peiception of state
agencies anu the policy foimulation. Seconu intiouuction of electionic goveinment piinciples
anu especially the ielation on position of SEW within e-goveinment stiuctuie. Anu thiiu, en-
hancement of capacities in business piocess management (BPN) in oiuei to align goveinment
agency seivices with the neeus of the piivate sectoi.

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 3+

3#+ *nt(esis Wor/s(op7 5ot 2otatoes and 6e 'a/e A<as
/ackgroun
The objective of the synthesis session was to haivest insights which paiticipants ueiiveu fiom
the piioi uelibeiations anu to put them into the inuiviuual peispective of each subiegional ini-
tiative. This uemanu-uiiven appioach iesulteu in the iuentification of conciete aieas foi futuie
peei-to-peei leaining measuies which will spaik collaboiation among the iepiesenteu initia-
tives beyonu the annually helu expeit foium. Foi the synthesis session paiticipants weie ui-
viueu into two gioups, one uNSPBu gioup anu one CARECuTI gioup. This way, paiticipants
weie enableu to uiscuss the most piessing issues (hot potatoes) in the fielu of cioss-boiuei co-
opeiation anu tiaue facilitation within theii iespective iegion.
,9SC*/, Working ,roup
Foi the uNSPBu gioup, implementation of SEZs, fiee
movement of laboui, SEWs, anu capacity builuing tuineu
out to be the "hot potatoes". Beyonu iuentifying the most
vital issues, the gioup membeis shaieu theii majoi leaining
expeiiences (key take aways) with theii peeis. Paiticipants
fiom the uNSPBu gioup came to a joint unueistanuing that
ueepeneu uialogue among subiegional initiatives geneiateu
impoitant leaining effects in the aieas of PPP in tiaue facilitation, AEC, anu SEW implementa-
tion.
C!RECC,&I Working ,roup
The CARECuTI gioup uesciibeu SEW, haimonisation of
legislation anu iegional eneigy coopeiation as the most
piessing issues foi theii initiatives. These "hot potatoes"
weie supplementeu by leaining piogiess (key take aways)
in teims of mechanisms to impiove cooiuination between
subiegional initiatives anu to haimonise iegional policies
with national level.
3" Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

3#" Disit of ;ang/o/ 2ort
Aftei the intiouuctoiy moining session on the concept of SEW,woikshop paiticipants anu the
oiganiseis conuucteu a fielu tiip to the poit of Bangkok anu the Thai National Single Winuow
(NSW) 0nit. The gioup was waimly welcomeu by the Thai Customs Bepaitment on site anu was
shown a viueo with an oveiview of the stiuctuie, oiganisation, anu facilities of the Bangkok Poit
Customs Buieau.
Afteiwaius the Thai Customs Electionic Systems (TCES), which is a web-baseu clouu technology
that encompasses the National Single Winuow (NSW) anu one stop seivice, weie intiouuceu. It
acts as a platfoim foi papeiless tiaue, iisk management, anu uigital signatuie seivices. The Thai
NSW is oiganiseu alongsiue the ASEAN Single Winuow (ASW) mouel. It is an electionic system
that enables secuieu, safe, anu efficient electionic exchange of tiaue-ielateu uocuments anu
ceitificates thiough a single point of entiy in oiuei to fulfil all impoit, expoit anu tiansit-ielateu
iegulatoiy iequiiements anu to expeuite the smooth flow of infoimation. In auuition, it stanus
foi a single submission of uata anu infoimation, synchionous piocessing of uata anu infoima-
tion, uecision-making foi stanuaiuiseu as well asintegiateu enviionment of customs ielease anu
caigo cleaiance (T#ai Custo(s, 20%!.

Fi5ure >: Thai National Single Winuow (Souice: http:www.customs.go.th)

Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia 3)

Paiticipants showeu gieat inteiest in the Thai NSW mouel, askeu many questions, anu maue
extensive use of the expeit knowleuge pioviueu by the Thai Customs Bepaitment. The following
inteiactions give a biief oveiview about the most piessing issues anu topics of inteiest.
D E ! Session
0on5olia: Wheie uiu the buuget come fiom to set up the SW system.
T#ai Custo(s: Theie was a special buuget allocateu foi setting up the SW system, baseu on the
iuea that the establishment will biing with it an inciease in state ievenue.
Ca(bodia: Which agency is the leau agency foi SW system.
T#ai Custo(s: The Royal Customs Bepaitment has the leauing iole.
E+r5+Dstan: Bow aie fees etc. collecteu.
T#ai Custo(s: The fees aie collecteu electionically.
P#ilippines: Bow aie quaiantine issues hanuleu with SEW.
T#ai Custo(s: Quaiantines aie hanuleu thiough a license numbei, the SEW unit just ieceives the
infoimation fiom the iespective agency
Re0erences
Foi fuithei uetaileu infoimation, please iefei to 222/custo(s/5o/t# anu 222/t#ains2/net. Rec-
ommenueu ieauing:
F**'4T (20%2!: "Beveloping a National Single Winuow foi Impoit, Expoit anu Logistics in Thailanu", Biief No. u8, August 2u12,
unne4t/unescap/or5/pub/brief8/pdf .

3, Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

3I4 ERegional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia =RCI>F?2rogramme
/ackgroun
Regional economic coopeiation anu integiation aie consensually seen as key to Asia's futuie
uevelopment, whose aichitectuie is built laigely on subiegional initiatives with so fai only few,
lean iegional institutions. Subiegional economic coopeiation initiatives aim at piomoting coop-
eiation in specific aieas, like tiaue anu tianspoit, investment, touiism, eneigy oi enviionment.
uiven the uevelopment gaps in the iegion, it is even moie impoitant to make iegional coopeia-
tion inclusive anu to ensuie that the smallei countiies can access benefit fiom iegional actions.
(ur !pproac)
The RCI Piogiamme suppoits iegional
anu national stakeholueis in the context
of subiegional coopeiation initiatives by
pioviuing capacity builuing, oiganising
tiainings anu uialogue events, anu con-
uucting sectoi stuuies.
The coopeiation encompasses the focus
aieas of the Regional Coopeiation anu Integiation in Pan Beibu uulf (PBu) anu the Regional
Coopeiation anu Integiation within uieatei Tumen Initiative (uTI). In auuition, RCI best piac-
tices aie tiansfeiieu among the nameu Asian iegional initiatives as well as Cential Asia Regional
Economic Coopeiation (CAREC) anu uieatei Nekong Subiegion (uNS). The RCI initiative fosteis
the uevelopment of iegional anu local piouuction netwoiks anu helps to oveicome the limita-
tions of uomestic maikets. Theiefoie, piojects piomoteu by RCI have the potential to signifi-
cantly contiibute to inclusive uevelopment by boosting iegional economic giowth thiough tiaue
facilitation. By these means, also iesouices foi pio-pooi policies can be geneiateu in oiuei to
boost weakei economies.
8ocus !reas
Auuiessing functional aspects of iegional coopeiation anu integiation within PBu by oi-
ganising stuuies anu capacity builuing activities.
Contiibuting to the implementation of conciete piojects in the uTI piioiity aieas of
tiaue, multi-uestination touiism, anu local cioss-boiuei coopeiation.
Piomoting peei-to-peei leaining anu exchange of goou piactices among iegional initia-
tives, leauing to pilot ieplication of lessons leaint.

Fact ;ox RCI
*ro.ect name Regional Economic Coopeiation anu Inte-
giation (RCI) in Asia
Commissione
+y
ueiman Feueial Ninistiy foi Economic Coopeia-
tion anu Bevelopment (BNZ)
1ey su+.ects Tiaue anu investment facilitation, poit coopeia-
tion, local cioss-boiuei economic coopeiation
anu social implications of economic integiation
5uration 2u11 - 2u1S
RCI 'eam


3isa /rueckner, Piogiamme Nanagei at
Beijing, holus an inteiuisciplinaiy uegiee
stuuies China anu inteinational economic l
has woikeu in the fielu of economic policy
foi moie than S yeais, focusing on tiaue an
boiuei economic coopeiation. In hei
tion she is iesponsible foi the oveiall impl
tion of RCI Piogiamme measuies. She also
nates activities of the Economic Policy Fo
emeiging economies think tank alliance su
by uIZ, in China anu maintains woiking i
with Chinese membeis of the netwoik.
joining uIZ, Lisa was in chaige of liaison m
ment at the ueiman Pavilion uuiing th
Woilu Exposition in Shanghai.

9agnus C. 9. /ro, an economic sociolo
tiaining, woiks as Piogiamme Nanagei at
stuuieu in Naibuig, Bambuig anu Lonuon
focus on iegional tiaue, statistics anu social
Cuiiently baseu in Beijing, China he is iesp
foi tiaue facilitation in Noitheast Asia (N
Koiea, }apan, anu China) as well as maiitim
omy in Southeast Asia. Befoie joining uIZ,
has woikeu with the ueiman Institute o
anu Aiea Stuuies (uIuA) in Bambuig. Bis
sional focus is iegional tiaue netwoiks an
facilitation. Auuitional iesponsibilities
aiounu the use of mouein meuia anu com
tions in the context of economic uevelopmen

Ste0an Hein has a backgiounu in Finance, E
ics anu Political Science. Foi the past 12 mo
has woikeu as consultant foi RCI in Beijing
soon join RCI as Piogiamme Nanagei. Stef
be iesponsible foi tiaue facilitation m
within the fiamewoik of the ASEAN
Tiaue Agieement (ACFTA) anu social impl
of economic integiation in Southeast Asia.
fessional focus is on tiaue finance anu lab
giation management. Piioi to joining uIZ
has woikeu S.S yeais at the Lanuesbank
Wueittembeig (LBBW) in Stuttgait.

&or+en ;iemeier, a political scientist, c
baseu in Beijing, woiking foi the RCI Piogiam
consultant. Be stuuieu in Nannheim as
Paiis with a focus on inteinational ielation
national political economy anu macioeco
Piioi to joining the RCI Team, he gaineu fiis
ing expeiience with uIZ in the sectoi pioje
tainable Economic Bevelopment" in uIZ he
teis, Eschboin, ueimany. Foi the RCI Piog
he mainly contiibutes in the aieas of tiaue
tion anu maiitime economy in Southeast As
ion in Asia 4%
Nanagei at uIZ in
uisciplinaiy uegiee in aiea
inational economic law. She
u of economic policy auvice
focusing on tiaue anu cioss-
eiation. In hei cuiient posi-
foi the oveiall implementa-
measuies. She also cooiui-
Economic Policy Foium, an
ink tank alliance suppoiteu
aintains woiking ielations
s of the netwoik. Piioi to
n chaige of liaison manage-
Pavilion uuiing the 2u1u
an economic sociologist by
Nanagei at uIZ. Be
ambuig anu Lonuon with a
, statistics anu social change.
jing, China he is iesponsible
Noitheast Asia (Nongolia,
l as maiitime econ-
. Befoie joining uIZ, Nagnus
ueiman Institute of ulobal
A) in Bambuig. Bis piofes-
l tiaue netwoiks anu tiaue
l iesponsibilities ievolve
ein meuia anu communica-
conomic uevelopment.
giounu in Finance, Econom-
e. Foi the past 12 months, he
nt foi RCI in Beijing anu will
iamme Nanagei. Stefan will
iaue facilitation measuies
of the ASEAN-China Fiee
TA) anu social implications
n in Southeast Asia. Bis pio-
iaue finance anu laboui mi-
Piioi to joining uIZ, Stefan
at the Lanuesbank Bauen-

political scientist, cuiiently
ng foi the RCI Piogiamme as
u in Nannheim as well as
nteinational ielations, intei-
omy anu macioeconomics.
Team, he gaineu fiist woik-
Z in the sectoi pioject "Sus-
elopment" in uIZ heauquai-
ny. Foi the RCI Piogiamme,
in the aieas of tiaue facilita-
omy in Southeast Asia.
4$ Regional Economic Coopera
8t(er 2ublications b RCI

The uIZ RCI Piogiamme publishes iegu
seminate iegional knowleuge on integiat
http:www.sciibu.comRci ASIA
Inputs and :aterials

Cioss-Boiuei Coopeiation
anu Tiaue Facilitation in Asia
Social Im
Econom

Pioject Nanagement of
Cioss-Boiuei Coopeiation:
Euiopean Expeiiences
Nanagin
Nigiatio

Ce<sletter Connect Asia
To subsciibe to oui quaiteily newslett
giamme Newsletteis" on http:www.g

Connect Asia No. 1 Connect

mme publishes iegulai upuates on its activities to offei insights an
nowleuge on integiation piocesses in Asia. To uownloau please iefei t
comRci ASIA oi http:www.sliueshaie.netRCI-Asia

Social Implications of
Economic Integiation
Economy Policy Bialogue am
Asian Tiansition Countiies

Nanaging Cioss-Boiuei Laboui
Nigiation on a Regional Scale
Potentials foi Poit Coopeiat
in the Pan-Beibu uulf Regio

i quaiteily newslettei, simply select Connect Asia unuei "Pioject an
http:www.giz.ueenmeuiacentei117.html.

Connect Asia No. 2
s to offei insights anu uis-
wnloau please iefei to

y Policy Bialogue among
iansition Countiies

ials foi Poit Coopeiation
Beibu uulf Region
ia unuei "Pioject anu Pio-

Registered offices
Bonn and Eschborn, Germany
T +49 228 44 60-0 (Bonn)
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Regional Economic Cooperation and Integration in Asia

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