ASEAN TENDENCY TO THE REGIONAL LEADERSHIP IN TRADE IN SERVICES

Abstract

Extremely dynamic and significant structural changes are transforming the world economy and international trade. Comparing with analogous experience of economic history it is worth to pay attention not only to the fast speed of global transformation but also to its wide scope that influences practically the whole world. The shift of economic power from West to East and from North to South, from industrially developed countries to the developing ones, especially Asian, is the obvious base of these transformations. In contrast to the world tendencies of the 20th century with two dominant centers namely USA and EU, in the 21st century the developing Asian countries with more dynamics of development rise on the global arena. Economies of Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are not an exclusion from these tendencies. Whereas their speed growth in the last four decades was conditioned by high level of industrial production export, the services sector and trade in services began to gain importance not so long ago. Association of Southeast Asian nations unites ten countries with total population more than 622 million people and total GDP more than 2.6 trillion US dollars. These countries are well integrated into the world economy and successfully gain profit from this integration. In particular the ASEAN integration helped to raise regional trade flows without trade diversification, to improve trade logistics, to decrease total trade costs and to increase regional investment flows. The article deals with analysis of values, dynamics and structure of trade in services in Association of Southeast Asian Nations. A complex analysis of trade in services with respective breakdown into separate branches was carried out. This article analyzes the importance of complex legal-regulatory measures for successful promotion of trade in services within the region as well as with the rest of world.