What Exactly Will Happen In 2015, When Asean Comes Into Effect?

[zombie nights]

I have permanent Hong Kong ID card and the right to work there, but hold a British passport. In 2015 can I work in Thailand without a work permit?

[bunnaag]

cheap good LAO beer

[MaaTini]

"...when it comes into effect in 2015..."

The start date of AEC will be December 31, 2015, so practically speaking it will be 2016.

IIRC the original start-date was put back, by 364 days, some months ago.

But is still technically within 2015, so face is saved all round, phew !

This gives an excellent example of just how well things will go, with the introduction of the new rules.

interesting - could you give a link to this information?

thanks in advance

[yoshiwara]

I have permanent Hong Kong ID card and the right to work there, but hold a British passport. In 2015 can I work in Thailand without a work permit?

No. Hong Kong not a member.

[klubex99]

I think it will have a massive overnight impact on a hell of a lot of Thai issues.

As far as saying that the 'powers that be' will implement obstacles such as the need to speak and read Thai is not a decision for the Thai government, it is a decision for the elected ASEAN committee and Thailand will HAVE to abide with those decisions. They will be signing away their own powers on that subject as it impacts on the 'free flow' theory.

What is a huge tumour waiting to erupt will be that if the THB continues to strengthen, then that alone will have massive economical ramifications in a sense that staples can be flooded inwards at a much lower cost than domestic produce. Imagine what will happen when the big companies realise that rice is cheaper from Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia? Do you think they will take advantage? you bet your life they will.

The Thai government's policies of subsidiary farming will take a big hit. They can't keep shoring up the price of produce to give the farmers a living, that will just exacerbate the problem of 'over the border' completion. Thai farmers will see their profits drop and the government won't be able to a lot to help because they will be losing a lot of import revenue, and they can barely afford these pet projects as it is, they are constantly running out of baht in these things.

I think ASEAN 2015 will have an impact on a scale of the EU. Though the processes may be slightly different in that in the EU, the strongest economies founded the alliance, and the weaker members introduced over 20 years, ASEAN 2015 will be all in overnight. They are already arguing about how many bananas constitutes 'a bunch'.... sound familiar to anyone??

[kurnell]

I see that there are a lot of Filipinos in the hotels already

[davejones]

ASEAN has been around since 1967.

[klubex99]

ASEAN has been around since 1967.

Erm....

I think we are all talking about ASEAN 2015

The formation of an ASEAN 'common market'. We all know ASEAN exists as a group of states.

[reiltin]

If the trade and tarif integration is truly embraced(which legally it must be)it will present the ordinary consumer with more choice and further cost savings,currently goods imported even from neighbouring ASEAN members leave the importer at the will of Thai customs officers who from my experience put other state sponsored extortionists in the little league,the mark-up Thai manufacturers charge would make Rockerfeller blush-A level playing pitch accross ASEAN would be a boon for Thai consumers and as repulsive to Thai captains of industry as the loom was to the Luddites....

[CaptHaddock]

If the trade and tarif integration is truly embraced(which legally it must be)it will present the ordinary consumer with more choice and further cost savings,currently goods imported even from neighbouring ASEAN members leave the importer at the will of Thai customs officers who from my experience put other state sponsored extortionists in the little league,the mark-up Thai manufacturers charge would make Rockerfeller blush-A level playing pitch accross ASEAN would be a boon for Thai consumers and as repulsive to Thai captains of industry as the loom was to the Luddites....

This is what is puzzling. Not just Thailand, but all of the SE Asian countries, have economies based on monopolies, godfather economies. That's the reason that there are no internationally competitive countries anywhere in SE Asia, nor any products with global recognition. This is in marked contrast with the economies of NE Asia: Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. So, why are they setting up an integrated Asean community at all? Have the govts of the region just got religion on competition? Even if that were true, they could have started by introducing competition within their own economies first.

[samran]

Tariffs will come down.

Non-tarriff barriers will go up.

They'll rebadge a few existing trade agreements and announce them as progress.

There will be shiny new ASEAN only lines at the airports, to which they'll issue the exactly the same visa that is given to every other foreigner. But it will be an ASEAN only line, so it will be cool.

So what will happen? Not much.

[i claudius]

The same as when the E.U started the richer nations put in more and the poorer nations get richer untill it all goes tits up ,remember when we were told everything would cost the same in every country ,well like the E.U it will be jobs for the boys and everyone else can go fly a kite