世界貿易組織的成立以及自由貿易協定(Free Trade Agreement)的締結，促成了全球貿易的自由化以及國際產業供應鏈的重整。然而，伴隨國際貿易自由化而產生的國際財富分配不均，以及發展中國家未能因貿易自由化獲益的問題，亦導致發展中國家和已開發國家之齟齬日漸加深。開發中國家因此擔憂國際貿易的自由化不但無法幫助其實現脫貧的目標，更可能如國際政治經濟學依賴理論(dependency theory)所描述，導致發展中國家成為已開發國家經濟成長的墊腳石。

本文主張，自2000年後興起的第三波區域整合(Third Regionalism) 中，大量締結的自由貿易協定，撼動了過往以世界貿易組織為中心的國際貿易架構。發展中國家在此階段大量締結的自由貿易協定，修正了過往區域整合由已開發國家主導態樣，並讓發展中國家在區域整合甚或是巨型貿易協定的談判中，擁有更大的影響力。本文透過對東南亞國協在東協經濟體2025藍圖下對服務業貿易整合策略之分析，說明發展中國家在第三波區域整合中發展出的新區域主義，並解釋東南亞國協如何透過多元且富有彈性的整合模式，漸進式的讓發展中國家擴大其貿易開放承諾，在深化區域經貿整合的同時，降低貿易自由化對國內政治、經濟及社會之衝擊，兼顧開發中國家透過貿易促進發展之需求以及期待。

The World Trade Organization and proliferating free trade agreements (FTAs) have contributed to the liberalization of global trade and the shift of the international supply chain. Nevertheless, trade liberalization has also led to the conflict between developing nations and developed nations and has increased the former’s concerns about the negative impact of trade on development. Premised on the dependency theory, developing nations contend that increasing free trade could worsen their dependency on the developed market and undermine their economic growth.

This article argues that in the Third Regionalism, also known as the latest wave of regional integration, the nature of contemporary FTAs has been fundamentally altered. Distinct from the conventional FTAs dominated by developed countries, developing countries now play a critical role in shaping mega-regional trade agreements. To substantiate this argument, this article analyzes the evolution of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) under the ASEAN Economic Blueprint 2025 as a case study. With a focus on the liberalization of intra-regional trade in services, thise article explains ASEAN’s incremental and flexible integration model and its approach to forging the trade-development nexus for developing nations.