Jakarta. ASEAN is still behind the European Union (EU) when it comes to imposing rules that affect countries outside the regional grouping, according to Rebecca Sta Maria, the executive director of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Secretariat.

The EU has launched a series of regulations that have sparked reactions from its trading partners, including Indonesia. One of the rules that Jakarta finds controversial is EU’s anti-deforestation regulation (EUDR), which might hamper Indonesian palm oil from entering the European market. The EU also has what it calls the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) which applies to organizations across the globe if they collect data related to EU citizens. Companies can face harsh fines if they violate privacy and security standards.

“The EU is very active in rule-making. Because of that, we get subjected to those rules, whether we like it or not. We get subjected to the privacy rules GDPR … we are also subject to the recent anti-deforestation policy because we are palm oil exporters,” Sta Maria said during a panel discussion at the 2024 BNI Investor Daily Summit in Jakarta on Tuesday.

She added: “Where is ASEAN in rule-making?”

Sta Maria told the forum that the economic integration within ASEAN still fell short. As a case in point, the group’s members rarely speak in one voice at the World Trade Organization (WTO). APEC has released its rules of environmental goods and services, according to Sta Maria. The APEC inter-governmental forum has 21 member economies, some of whom are ASEAN countries such as Indonesia and Vietnam. Sta Maria told the forum that ASEAN member economies could take the ideas that they had picked up at APEC and “shape them as ASEAN”.

“ASEAN economic integration is when we ensure that our voice is heard not just at the international organizations, but also in rule-making: how do we shape the rules of the WTO or the rules on privacy, just like APEC’s cross-border privacy rules? How do we take [those rules] into ASEAN context and shape them so they are relevant to ASEAN so they are just there?” Sta Maria said.

“Be it digital economy, privacy rules, sustainability or just energy transition initiatives -- these are all aspects that we can take … and shape it as ASEAN rules. How does it benefit ASEAN. … It is time to do it. We [ASEAN] are already mature as a grouping to be able to shape rules,” Sta Maria said.