The ASEAN-CER Integration Partnership Forum

The ASEAN-CER Integration Partnership Forum (IPF), is an annual seminar where we share experiences on economic integration.

Launched at a meeting of the Prime Ministers in 2011 the IPF builds on the free trade agreement negotiated between Australia, New Zealand and the ten ASEAN Member States in 2009.

For all the natural rivalry and competition that will always exist between our two countries... it is together that we seek to improve the lives of all our citizens.

Former Prime Minister John Key, 16 February, 2011, Wellington

Sharing lessons learned

Through the IPF, the CER and ASEAN partners can share the lessons learned in their respective experiences with regional economic integration, including nearly thirty years of the CER/Single Economic Market (SEM) journey and ASEAN’s own challenges and successes with the ASEAN Economic Community.

We took sheltered, insular economies and opened them to the world through the remarkable reforms of the 1980’s and 90’s. At the same time we opened our economies to each other creating a degree of integration that is unparalleled throughout the world.

The Hon Julia Gillard, Former Prime Minister of Australia, 16 February 2011, Wellington

IPF seminars

Seven IPFs have been held to date, covering non-tariff measures and good regulatory practice; general regional economic integration issues; services trade; competition policy; non-tariff measures in agri-food trade, and standards and conformance. Speakers have been drawn from the senior ranks of government, business and academia.

IPF 2022 - Trade and Sustainable Development

The 2022 IPF took place virtually on Monday 20 June. The theme for this year's meeting was "trade and sustainable development", including how environmental and labour concerns and priorities could be approached in a trade context. It also explored issues around how to create an enabling environment for businesses and policymakers to achieve inclusive economic growth that boosts living standards for all and safeguards the environment at the same time. These issues are increasingly prominent as economies look to accelerate progress towards achieving the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals 2030.  

Key messages included the potential for “ethical” and sustainable businesses to be profitable; the ability for business to lead on both policy and action in these areas; the risks of high compliance costs and disguised protectionism (particularly when it came to carbon-related policies); the importance of good domestic policy settings oriented towards circular economy models and the need for domestic policy and regulatory coherence with trade measures; and the opportunity as well as the imperative for greater cooperation on trade and sustainable development among ASEAN, Australia and New Zealand, particularly as others, such as the EU, sought to establish global norms.

For more information, including about the speakers, please see the programme [PDF, 356 KB].

IPF 2019 – Enabling Digital Trade

The 2019 IPF took place on Tuesday 30 April in Melbourne, Australia. Download the programme [DOCX, 22 KB] and the speaker bios [DOCX, 5.7 MB].

The Forum looked at the important topic of digital trade. The digital revolution is transforming trade along with the way that we all live, work and connect. While digital trade holds huge promise for more inclusive growth, for example through enabling more successful participation in trade by small businesses, policymakers face a range of challenges in ensuring that the policy approach and regulatory environment are ‘trade-friendly’ while also meeting broader policy goals such as privacy, consumer protection and cybersecurity. The IPF seminar enabled a range of speakers drawn from the ranks of government, business and academia/thinktanks from around the region and more broadly to share their insights on these important issues. Speakers included:

Dr Joshua Meltzer, Senior Fellow, Brookings Institution, ‘Digital Trade [PDF, 12 MB]'

Dr Fraser Thompson, Co-Founder and Director of AlphaBeta, ‘Unlocking the Digital Trade Opportunities for the ASEAN Economies [PDF, 1.3 MB]

Mr Mitchell Pham, Co-Founder and Director of Augen Software Group and Kiwi Connection Tech Hub; Chair NZTech and FinTechNZ ‘Augen Software Group & Kiwi Connection Hub [PDF, 3.6 MB] [PDF, 3.6 MB] [PDF, 3.6 MB]’ and ‘FinTech Update [PDF, 2.6 MB]

Ms Louise McGrath, National Manager – Business and Advisory Services, Australian Industry Group 'Barriers to Digital Trade [PDF, 4.1 MB] [PDF, 4.1 MB] [PDF, 4.1 MB]'

Mr Willy Pham, CEO of Acquire; Head of Performance Biz-Eyes, Square Group; CMO of T-Rex Exchange

Mr Matthew Prouse, Head of Industry, Xero Australia ‘Small Business Insights and the Digital Economy [PDF, 2.2 MB]

Ms Alana Hudson, Head of Services and Investment, Trade Negotiations Division, New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade ‘The Changing Face of Trade: New Zealand’s response [PDF, 6.8 MB]

Ms Kah Mei Chan, Deputy Director, International Trade Cluster, Singapore Ministry of Trade and Industry, ‘Digital Trade: Singapore’s Approach [PDF, 3 MB]

Datuk Yasmin Mahmood, Managing Director, FutureReady Consulting Sdn Bhd

Dr Peter Lovelock, Director and Co-Founder of the Technology Research Project Corporate ‘The ASEAN Approach to Digital Trade [PDF, 2.9 MB]

IPF 2018 – Good Regulatory Practice and Non-Tariff Measures

The 2018 IPF took place in Da Nang, Viet Nam, on Thursday 5 April and focused on ‘Good Regulatory Practice and Non-Tariff Measures’. The use of non-tariff measures around the globe has increased significantly as tariffs have fallen over past decades. While many such measures are aimed at legitimate objectives, depending on their design they can act as a barrier to trade. It is clear that regulatory settings can have a significant impact in this area. This year’s IPF looked at how issues around ‘good regulatory practice’ and non-tariff measures are being approached within the AANZFTA region and internationally, including the impacts on trade flows and business around the region, with the food and beverage sector a particular focus. Speakers were drawn from New Zealand, Australia, ASEAN and international institutions, and from government, academic and business circles.

Good Regulatory Practice for NTMs monitoring [PDF, 598 KB], by Ha Thi Thanh Doan, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia.

International Economic Integration and Institutional Reforms: The Case of Vietnam [PDF, 687 KB], by Vo Tri Thanh, Central Institute for Economic Management.

Good Regulatory Practice – The Australian Experience, by David Poulter, Department of Jobs and Small Business, Australia.

Good Regulatory Practice and Non-Tariff Measures – Business Perspective [PDF, 1 MB], by Teresa Lo, Programme LeadASEAN Food & Beverage Alliance.

What Constitutes Good Regulatory Practice [PDF, 494 KB], by Peter Keogh, Director Economics and Trade, Australian Food & Grocery Council.

Good Regulatory Practice – World Bank approach, products and program [PDF, 3.3 MB] [PDF, 3.3 MB] [PDF, 3.3 MB], by Peter Ladegaard, Global Lead, Regulatory Policy and Management, World Bank.

APEC Work on Good Regulatory Practices and Non-Tariff Measures [PDF, 4.8 MB], by Carlos Kuriyama, Senior Analyst, Policy Support Unit, APEC Secretariat.

The ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practice Network [PDF, 1013 KB], by Mark Steel, Director Regulatory Systems, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, New Zealand.

The ASEAN-OECD Good Regulatory Practice Network [PDF, 7.7 MB], by Mastura Ahmad Mustafa, Senior Director, ASEAN Economic Integration Division, Ministry of International Trade and Industry, Malaysia.

APEC - Good Regulatory Practice and Non-Tariff Measures, by Carlos Kuriyama, Senior Analyst, APEC Policy Support Unit (see embedded video below)

Carlos Kuriyama on Good Regulatory Practice and Non-Tariff Measures

Following the IPF held in Da Nang in 2018, the New Zealand Institute of Economic Research (NZIER) were commissioned by the New Zealand Government (MFAT and MBIE) to prepare a report on international regulatory cooperation, using four case studies:  Download the report(external link) 

Find the details of each case study here:

Previous presentations from IPF seminars

May 2017 — Economic integration in challenging times

The 2017 IPF took place in Auckland on 31 May 2017 and was co-chaired by Vangelis Vitalis, Deputy Secretary Trade and Economic Group, Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and Michael Mugliston, Special Negotiator, FTA Division, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. While past years have focussed on sector-specific issues, a broader theme of "economic integration in challenging times" was selected for this year given the then-ongoing AANZFTA General Review.

Speakers' presentations

The following presentations from the May 2017 Forum are available to download:

Session 1: Setting the scene

Progressor Peter Drysdale, Emeritus Professor, Australian National University, "why regional economic integration is important in challenging economic times [PDF, 132 KB]

Simon Murdoch, Deputy Chair, Asia New Zealand Foundation, "Closer Economic Relations - key principles and the state of trans-Tasman integration [PDF, 239 KB]"

Session 2: Revitalising the Single Economic Market

Alison Duncan, Counsellor, Australian High Commission, Wellington, "the transition from "at the border" to "behind the border [PDF, 391 KB]'

Stephanie Honey, Associate Director, New Zealand International Business Forum, "The Single Economic Market agenda - the business angle [PDF, 300 KB]"

Session 3: Engaging with the broader region

Greg Earl, Former Deputy Editor and Asia Pacific Editor, Australian Financial Review, "Regional economic integration: ASEAN and its importance to Australia and New Zealand [PDF, 2.6 MB]"

Dr Ponciano Intal, Senior Economist, ERIA, "How ASEAN can work to realise a well-integrated and connected economy within the global system by 2025, and what can be learnt from CER integration [PDF, 944 KB]"

March 2016 — Economic Integration and the standards and conformance infrastructure: challenges and opportunities

Speakers' presentations

The following presentations from the March 2016 IPF in Melbourne are available to download:

Overview of CER cooperation in the market for goods, and the importance of the standards and conformance infrastructure to business and trade

Milton Churche, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade [PDF, 442 KB]

David Dewar, New Zealand High Commission to Australia [PDF, 765 KB]

The TTMRA framework for goods

Tom Simcock, Ministry for Business, Innovation and Employment [PDF, 305 KB] [PDF, 305 KB]

Chris Preston, Food and Grocery Council of Australia [PDF, 592 KB]

Cooperation on standards and conformance infrastructure, including approaches to accreditation

James Galloway, JAS-ANZ [PDF, 850 KB] [PDF, 850 KB]

Llew Richards, International Accreditation NZ [PDF, 260 KB]

Regina Robertson, National Association of Testing Authorities, Australia [PDF, 433 KB] [PDF, 433 KB]

Dr Angela Samuel and Mr Malcolm Bartlett, National Measurement Institute Australia [PDF, 1.2 MB]

The ASEAN Economic Community: towards 2025

Dr Melanie Milo, Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia [PDF, 546 KB]

June 2013: Competition policy in an integrated market: the Closer Economic Relations approach

Competition policy development in New Zealand [PPTX, 320 KB] - Lewis Evans, Professor of Economics Victoria University of Wellington. Research Fellow, NZ Institute for the Study of Competition and Regulation.

International Cooperation between competition agencies [PPTX, 480 KB] - The ACCC perspective on cooperation with the NZCC - Marcus Bezzi, Australian Competition & Consumer commission

Development of Competition Policy, Economic Benefits and Reform Processes: Australia’s experience [PPTX, 291 KB] - Paul Gretton - This presentation is for general use only i.e. not for quotation or attribution – Please refer to the suggested reading list below

Paul Gretton – suggested reading [PDF, 306 KB] [PDF, 306 KB]

CER, competition policy and enforcement cooperation between Australia and New Zealand [PPTX, 883 KB], Kate Morrison, General Manager Competition, Commerce Commission

A Practitioner’s Perspective on International Enforcement Cooperation [PPTX, 4.4 MB] - Luke Woodward, Gilbert Tobin Lawyers.

May 2012: Regional economic integration: the Closer Economic Relations approach to a single market for services

Introductory remarks by New Zealand [PDF, 22 KB] [PDF, 22 KB]

The Current Status and Perspectives of Economic Integration in ASEAN and Extended East Asia [PDF, 2.1 MB] — ERIA: ASEAN Integration overview

Policy perspective Regional economic integration: the CER approach to a single market for services [PDF, 34 KB]

Trade in Services [PDF, 292 KB] — academic perspective

Impact of CER on Beca - A Services Company Perspective [PDF, 203 KB] — business perspective

Trans-Tasman Mutual Recognition Arrangement [PDF, 299 KB] — policy perspective

Mutual Recognition in the trans-Tasman Single Economic Market [PDF, 1.8 MB] — academic perspective

Plumbing [PDF, 1.1 MB] — case study

June 2011: Closer Economic Relations and the Single Economic Market - a unique integration pathway

Powerpoint presentation [PPT, 276 KB]

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