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(of) all restrictions on trade in services for all other services

sectors by 2015”.

The “free flow of skilled labor” and

the development of schemes for MRAs and AQRF

One major feature of AEC 2015 is the “free flow of
skilled labor”, obviously in line with Mode 4 of GATS/AFAS. Who

are the skilled workers? They are the managers, professionals
and highly-skilled personnel of service companies engaged in

trade in services. Accordingly, the free flow of skilled labor
is needed in an ASEAN seeking to establish itself as a single
market and one production base because this will allow ASEAN

companies easy access to needed skills and talents wherever
they operate in the region. Mobility and availability of

professionals and skilled workers are the buzz terms used in
justifying the concept of the free flow of skilled labor.

For the free movement of professional and skilled
service personnel, the ASEAN instituted the concept of “mutual
recognition agreements” (MRAs), which calls for a system of

equivalency and recognition related to the education, skills
and qualifications for various disciplines. Among the first to

be covered by the ASEAN MRAs are architectural services,
accountancy services, nursing services, surveying qualifications,

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