|Help

ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement (AANZFTA) - World Arbitration Reporter, Second Edition

Author(s): 
Anna Kirk
Page Count: 
36 pages
Media Description: 
1 PDF Download
Published: 
July, 2026
Jurisdictions: 
International,
Asia,
New Zealand,
Australia
Practice Areas: 
ASEAN,
Sources of Arbitration Law,
Arbitrators and Arbitral Tribunals

PDF753.85 KB

$50.00
Description: 

Originally from World Arbitration Reporter (WAR) - 2nd Edition

Preview Page

I.  INTRODUCTION  

The economic power of the Asia-Pacific region has risen exponentially over the past three decades, resulting in a fundamental shift in international economic relations. This growth has been facilitated by the emergence of China and India as dominant global economies, as well as the collective economic powerhouse created by the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN).  Some of these countries are now considerable capital exporters,2 seeking to liberalize investment flows and strengthen their networks of international trade and investment agreements.  Stephan Schill has highlighted the rise of Asia as an influential “rule-maker” in the area of international investment law, with a move away from the traditional dominating economies in Europe and North America.3  He has observed that there is a “fundamental shift towards the transpacific” in international investment law.4 

The various Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) which ASEAN has concluded over the past 20 years are a significant contributor to the increasingly active and visible leadership role that the Asia-Pacific region is taking in international investment law.  This Chapter focuses on one of these agreements, the Agreement Establishing the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Area (AANZFTA).  It examines both the original 2010 Agreement and the recent Upgrade known as the Second Protocol to the AANZFTA, which entered into force in 2025. The Chapter considers the context, content, and role of this Agreement in liberalizing trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as its position within the broader trade and investment matrix, which now includes the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP).  

The AANZFTA is one of the “new generation” international trade and investment agreements which liberalize trade in goods and services and protect and promote foreign investment.