Building Blocks or Stumbling Blocks?

Abstract

The article discusses the Greater Mekong Subregion (GMS) cooperation, which represents subregionalism, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area (AFTA), which represents regionalism. The GMS programme is a classic case of market and market-based integration that concentrates on the provision of physical infrastructure that has public good characteristics. It supports some measures to facilitate trade and investment such as improving procedures and transparency for customs clearance and enhancing technical skills to improve the application of various regulatory systems. AFTA is the first political attempt to bring regional free trade in Asia which centers on the common effective preference tariff (CEPT).