Trade in Services in ASEAN
Services is a sizeable and is in general continuously expanding component of GDP in ASEAN economies. As of 2024, services sector represents between 38% and 77% of ASEAN Member States’ Gross Domestic Product (GDP), with a median of 50.6%.
(Source: ASEANStats, 2019 and 2025)
Except for the decrease of trade during the 2020 global COVID-19 pandemic, ASEAN’s services export grew steadily from USD 319.2 billion in 2015 to USD 667.9 billion in 2024, at an annual average growth rate of 7.7%; while ASEAN’s services import also increased from USD 323.0 billion to USD 618.5 billion, at an annual average growth rate of 6.7%. Encouragingly, since 2016, ASEAN has already become a net exporter of services, except for the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.
(Source: ASEANStats, 2025)
Transport, travel, and other business services have significantly dominated the export and import of services of ASEAN over the past years, followed by financial services at the distant fourth place. However, over the past decade, telecommunications and ICT services have become an increasingly significant component of ASEAN’s services trade, followed by manufacturing services for exports and intellectual property charges for imports. This trend highlights ASEAN’s growing role as one of the world’s key manufacturing hubs. These services sectors are classified based on the IMF Balance of Payments Manual, 6th Edition.
(Source: ASEANStats, 2025)
(Source: ASEANStats, 2025)
Services sectors have also been traditionally the largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investments (FDI) into the region. Throughout the last 15 years, services sectors have attracted about 60 or higher percentage of total FDI flow into ASEAN.
(Source: ASEANStats, 2025)
ASEAN Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS)
Signed by the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM) in 1995, AFAS marked ASEAN’s commitment to promoting the free flow of services. It aligns with and builds upon the WTO’s General Agreement on Trade in Services (GATS) and has led to multiple rounds of negotiations to improve the commitments of ASEAN Member States on top of their WTO commitments and aim to deepen regional integration.
Continued efforts in ASEAN have resulted in ten packages of commitments under the AFAS signed by the AEM. These packages provide for details of commitments of each ASEAN Member State in various services sectors and subsectors. In addition, there has also been seven additional packages of commitments in financial services under the AFAS signed by the finance ministers and nine additional packages of commitments in air transport services under the AFAS signed by the ATM.
All of these contribute to progressively deeper level and wider coverage of ASEAN Member States’ commitment to substantially eliminate restrictions to trade in services among them.
Click here for the text of the AFAS
Click here for ASEAN Member States’ AFAS commitments under the ASEAN Economic Ministers (AEM)
Click here for ASEAN Member States’ AFAS commitments in air transport services under the ASEAN Transport Ministers (AEM)
Click here for ASEAN Member States’ AFAS commitments in financial services under the ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting (AFMGM)
ASEAN Trade in Services Agreement (ATISA)
Signed in 2020, ATISA represents major milestone in ASEAN’s journey toward deeper regional integration in services. Building on the foundation laid by the AFAS, ATISA strengthens legal commitments among ASEAN Member States and sets a clearer obligation in liberalising trade in services.
ATISA introduces a modern and more business-friendly approach to services commitments by adopting the negative list scheduling method. This means that all services sectors are considered open unless explicitly listed as reservations, providing greater transparency and predictability for businesses.
Under the ATISA, ASEAN Member States are transitioning their AFAS commitments, previously scheduled using the GATS-style positive list, into schedules of Non-Conforming Measures (NCMs). This transition will be done within the timeline stipulated in the Agreement. The transformation will enhance clarity and accessibility of information for service suppliers and investors, supporting a more integrated and competitive ASEAN services market.
Click here for the text of the ATISA along with its annexes
ASEAN Services Facilitation Framework (ASFF)
Adopted in 2024, ASFF is a non-binding framework providing policy guidelines to reduce regulatory barriers and improve the ease of doing business in services. It complements the legally binding ATISA by focusing on practical measures that enhance the business environment for service providers across ASEAN.
ASFF promotes a forward-looking approach to services facilitation through five key pillars:
- Streamlined Regulations: Encouraging objective, transparent, and efficient administrative procedures for service authorisation and licensing
- Digitalisation: Supporting the adoption of digital technologies and the development of single digital platforms to simplify service delivery and regulatory compliance.
- Transparency: Promoting the publication of relevant laws, procedures, and standards, and enabling stakeholder input through public consultations.
- Mobility: Facilitating the temporary movement of service suppliers and enhancing the recognition of professional qualifications.
- Sustainability and Innovation: Advancing policies that support circular economy principles, ESG standards, and innovation in service sectors.
Together, these elements help ASEAN Member States create a more predictable, inclusive, and competitive services ecosystem, one that supports regional integration and benefits businesses of all sizes. Click here for the text of the ASEAN Services Facilitation Framework (ASFF)
Sectoral Cooperations
ASEAN’s services integration is supported by targeted cooperation in key sectors that are vital to regional development and connectivity. These sectors, namely healthcare and logistics, are guided by dedicated roadmaps and working groups that aim to improve service quality, facilitate professional mobility, and enhance infrastructure and regulatory coherence. These sectoral initiatives complement broader ASEAN frameworks by addressing practical challenges and enabling smoother cross-border operations.
