Facilitating ASEAN-U.S. Trade and Direct Foreign Investment in Information Services: Alternative Policies and Their Effects

Policy issues relating to trade and direct foreign investment in information services for promoting ASEAN-U.S. economic development are examined. The importance of information is treated as a service and resource in the world economy. Traditional regulation and protection of developed-country information services is summarized with regard to telecommunications, banking, and intellectual property, stressing the telematic interaction of banking and telecommunications in development. Recent trends in information services liberalization and their effects in the United States, Western Europe, and Japan are examined. Policy recommendations for similar liberalization affecting ASEAN-U.S. trade and investment, including a conceptual and policy discussion of the similarities and differences between trade and direct foreign investment in services, are set forth. The final section argues that such policies will result in export-led growth, allocative efficiency, technology transfer and competition, as well as favourable social, cultural, and political effects.