FTA would boost trade in both directions

The EU and ASEAN have been in FTA negotiations since 2007. Negotiations have stalled, however, and the EU has begun bilateral FTA negotiations with individual countries. According to the EU, the goal is still to reach a regional agreement, with bilateral negotiations considered steps towards that goal. Negotiations with Singapore and Malaysia were launched in 2010. No rounds of negotiation are planned currently. 

According to Standard Chartered, "an FTA will take time to progress to completion, but should boost bilateral trade significantly when it is reached. It would likely impact services trade more, as services would grow from a lower base".

The EU launched FTA negotiations with South Korea in 2007 and an FTA between the two economies was established in 2011. The EU-South Korea FTA is the first between the EU and an Asian country. The trade pattern following the FTA shows that EU exports to Korea increased much faster than EU exports to the world. 

However EU imports from Korea remained stagnant. We believe this pattern reflects weak European domestic demand in the period following the FTA agreement - especially for the type of goods imported from Korea - rather than the FTA terms favouring EU over Korean corporations, says Standard Chartered.