Proposal Structure - the Legal Framework of the Aec in Relation to International Trade and Debt Enforcement: A Case Study of Thailand

Proposal Structure

        The Legal framework of the AEC in Relation to International Trade and Debt Enforcement: A case Study of Thailand.

1. Introduction

1.1 Background        

1.1.1 Overview of the ASEAN Community

On 8 August 1967, the five Asian leader countries have been launched Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Bangkok, Thailand in signing agreement of  Bangkok Declaration by the  Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore.  Later, ASEAN has become ten countries compose of Brunei, Vietname, Lao PDR, Myanmar, and Cambodia with over 600 million people in ASEAN.

The aim was to develop and promote regional cooperation  and maintaining peace with 3 pillars as following : ASEAN Security Community (ASC), ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) and ASEAN Socio - Cultural Community (ASCC). They prepare for the original plan of ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) in 2020. In 2006, ASEAN Economic Ministry Meeting (AEM) said that Asian group should create a blueprint for development in economic zone in 2020. Because of this goal quite too far for  members to reach in the development process and economic growth. Therefore, at the 12th ASEAN Summit in January 2007, ASEAN leaders countries confirm their strong commitment to establish and accelerate of an ASEAN Community by 2015.

        AEC goals aim at the free flow of goods and services, and each member able to move the professions or skilled labors that are so-called Mutual Recognition Agreement (MRA) which provide highly skilled labor to work internal ASEAN countries such as medical, dental, engineering, accountancy services and surveying qualification and free flows of capital which makes AEC able to do created a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) among members.  AEC  also assigned strategic schedule of the AEC blueprint as the following key characteristics: (1) AEC members should be an integrated production base and people-oriented or so-called ASEAN single window which are free flows of goods, services, investment, capital and also skilled labor (2) AEC should be high competitive economic region i.e. in competition policy, consumer protection, infrastructure development, taxation and E-commerce (3) equitable economic development and i.e. SEM development and leader in capacity building which called Initiatives for ASEAN Integration (IAI) and (4) integration into the global economy which become a participation in terms of global supply networks and able to negotiation for free trade area (FTAs) as well.

1.2 Research motivation and purpose

 1.2.1 Research Statement

Nowadays,  globalization has played a vital role in the world associated with multinational companies which affect to international trade and the economy in many countries and in our daily life.  For instance, the brands from the US such as KFC, Coca-cola, Nike,  McDonald’s, and so on. The way people live, eat, dress is based on the entrepreneur and the company to design their brands. For instance, he/she is wearing sneaker’s Nike or have a nice dinner at McDonald’s. These multinational corporations play a vital role in businesses and the economy.  Therefore, AEC is inevitable due to the world has changed into a new market economy, which is free trade areas (FTAs) and Mutual Recognition in ASEAN (MRA) which influence Thailand and many countries in South East Asia. AEC play a vital role in term of economic and people's well-being which means that AEC is an instrument to attract Foreign Direct Investor (FDI)  to entry into the global economy and increasing of negotiation power in term of trade and investment in the world economy.^[1]