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Countries and regions
Association of South East Asian Nations (ASEAN)
The final negotiations for a Free Trade Agreement between Singapore and the EU were completed in December 2012.
The EU is negotiating Free Trade Agreements with Malaysia, Vietnam and Thailand.
The EU's door remains open to start negotiations with other partners in the region and hopes one day to complete these agreements with a region-to-regional trade agreement.
Trade picture
ASEAN as a whole represents the EU's 3rd largest trading partner outside Europe (after the US and China) with more than €206 billion of trade in goods and services in 2011.
The EU is ASEAN 2nd largest trading partner after China, accounting for around 11% of ASEAN trade.
The EU is by far the largest investor in ASEAN countries. EU companies have invested around €9.1 billion annually on average (2000-2009).
The EU's main exports to ASEAN are chemical products, machinery and transport equipment. The main imports from ASEAN to the EU are machinery and transport equipment, agricultural products as well as textiles and clothing.
EU-ASEAN Community "trade in goods" statistics
| Year | EU imports | EU exports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 68.0 | 50.1 | -17.9 |
| 2010 | 87.0 | 61.1 | -25.8 |
| 2011 | 93.3 | 68.4 | -24.8 |
EU-ASEAN Community "trade in services" statistics
| Year | EU imports | EU exports | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | 19.5 | 22.0 | 2.5 |
| 2009 | 18.0 | 20.9 | 2.9 |
| 2010 | 20.5 | 23.8 | 3.2 |
Foreign direct investment
| Year | Inward stocks | Outward stocks | Balance |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | 67.9 | 192.7 | 124.9 |
EU and the ASEAN
Trade related assistance to ASEAN
The EU also finances regional projects relating to trade such as:
- Enhancing ASEAN FTA Negotiating Capacity Programme
- ASEAN Regional Integration Support Programme (ARISE)
- EU-ASEAN Statistical Capacity Building Programme (EASCAB)
- ASEAN Project on the Protection of Intellectual Property Rights (ECAP III)
Besides the trade negotiations with individual ASEAN members, the EU cooperates closely with the ASEAN region as a whole. Cooperation is maintained through:
- an EU-ASEAN Dialogue which includes discussions on trade and investment issues at ministerial and senior economic officials levels.
- the EU and the ASEAN Secretariat conduct seminars on topics such as regional economic integration, liberalisation of services, technical barriers to trade and trade facilitation.
Trading with ASEAN
- The EU is present on the ground in ASEAN (EU Delegations in Brunei Darussalam, Burma/Myanmar, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam)
- Trade relations are part of the EU's overall political and economic relations with ASEAN
- Association of South East Nations