A three stage approach to the allocation of industrial projects

Abstract

Introduction The past progress of regional economic cooperation among the ASEAN countries After almost ten years of existence, economic cooperation in the ASEAN countries has been confined mostly to cooperation in the dialogues with the EEC and Japan, and the agreement to provide the supply of food and energy to the other member countries if the need arises. Outside these two areas, the other major achievements are the agreement to set up one large scale industrial project in each of the ASEAN countries, and the agree- ment to reduce tariffs across the board by ten per cent on goods imported from the other ASEAN countries. Even in these two agreements there is still not enough reason to be elated. The second agreement is basically a bilateral one and does not include all countries in the ASEAN region.¹ For the ASEAN countries as a whole, the economic ministers, in their January 1977 meeting in Manila, have only agreed to reduce tariffs on a selective basis.