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1. Explanation of ASEAN
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (“ASEAN”), an economic cooperation agreement, was founded by
Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore and Thailand on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok, Thailand (now headquartered
in Jakarta, Indonesia). The two primary objectives of ASEAN are as follows:
• Accelerate economic growth, social progress and cultural development in the region, and
• Promote regional peace and stability through the rule of law in relationship among countries in the region.
The foregoing objectives are further executed by ASEAN through the establishment of the following communities in
2013:
• The ASEAN Security Community, to ensure peaceful resolution in the settlement of intra-regional disputes
• The ASEAN Economic Community, to promote stabilization and progression of a competitive economic region
• The ASEAN Sociocultural Community, to support the workforce to confirm they are benefiting from integration.

2. Countries within ASEAN
ASEAN currently has ten member nations:
• Indonesia, an original member that joined August 8, 1967
• Malaysia, an original member that joined August 8, 1967,
• The Philippines, an original member that joined August 8, 1967
• Singapore, an original member that joined August 8, 1967
• Thailand, an original member that joined August 8, 1967
• Brunei Darussalam, who joined January 7, 1984
• Vietnam, who joined July 28, 1995
• Laos, who joined July 23, 1997,
• Myanmar, who joined July 23, 1997
• Cambodia, who joined April 30, 1997
The only country of Southeast Asia that has not joined ASEAN is East Timor, and they are currently working on
joining the organization.

3. Benefits and Challenges regarding ASEAN
Benefits
• Reduce trade barriers between member states and improve economic growth.
• Promote regional peace and stability amongst members.
• Increase tourism of member states.
• Improve human quality for member states.
Challenges
• Geopolitical stability and regional relationships.
• large conglomerates and widespread corruption undermine the regions business environment and hurts small
businesses.
• Consumers in the region are price sensitive and demanding which leads to businesses with low margins and
low labor costs.
• Changing demographics and regional digital economy.

4. Impact of ASEAN on US Businesses and
Consumers
While to some, ASEAN may not be considered as impactful an agreement as others, the economic numbers say
otherwise. Southeast Asia is one of the fastest growing economic regions in the world. Not only are the 10
countries that make up ASEAN the fourth largest export market for the U.S., it also represents nearly 550,000
U.S. jobs. ASEAN is also the number one destination for U.S. foreign direct investment in Asia. With that being
said, the U.S. is not the only country that conducts trade with ASEAN. With the economic growth that China is
experiencing, it is more important than ever that the U.S. continue to harvest its relationship with ASEAN to
procure a stabilized global market

5. Sources
• Gaspar, J., Bierman, L., Kolari, J., Arreola-Risa, A., Hise, R. Smith, L. (2017, 2014). Introduction to global
Business: Understanding the International Environment & Global Business Functions (2nd Edition). Boston,
MA: Cengage Learning.
• The Association of Southeast Asian Nations. “About ASEAN, Overview.” The Association of Southeast Asian
Nations. Retrieved from https://asean.org/asean/about-asean/overview/.
• Nuclear Threat Initiative. (2018, September 8). “ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS (ASEAN).”
Nuclear Threat Initiative. Retrieved from https://www.nti.org/learn/treaties-and-regimes/association-
southeast-asian-nations-asean/.
• McKinsey & Company. (2014, May 21). 7 Things you need to know about ASEAN [Video File]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rswa_M1xKuo.