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Labor-receiving countries obviously will not allow

such labor market liberalization for fear of being flooded by
unwanted migrants. They want to maintain a selective labor
market policy and retain the flexibility to manage visa policies

based on their own development requirements. On the other
hand, some countries like the Philippines are under pressure

to alter domestic rules regulating the hiring of foreign workers
based on the criterion of “needs” (meaning the services
cannot be provided by the local experts or managers). This is

why the issuance of “alien work permits” (AEPs) is sometimes
contested by certain professional associations.

ASEAN clones GATS as AFAS

In the ASEAN, GATS was renamed simply as the ASEAN
Framework Agreement on Services (AFAS). The Agreement was

formally adopted in 1995 right after the establishment of the
WTO.

The liberalization of trade in services in the region has
always been seen as critical in building the AEC, for services
constitute over 40 per cent of the GDP of each ASEAN member

country. It is the fastest-growing economic sector region-wide.
In 2008, services received 50 per cent of the total ASEAN FDI

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flows amounting then to US$33.5 billion . The growth of trade

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