wˌɛn ðə jˈʊɹɹuːɡwˌaɪ ɹˈaʊnd ʌv dɪskˈʌʃənz tə kɹiːˈeɪt mˈoːɹ lˈɪbɚɹəlˌaɪzd wˈɜːld tɹˈeɪd wʌz ɐbˈɔːɹɾᵻd ɪn ˈɔːɾʌm nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd nˈaɪnti sˈɛvən, ðə məlˈeɪʒən pɹˈaɪm mˈɪnɪstɚ mˈæhɐθˌɪɹ moʊhˈæmɪd ɐtˈɛmptᵻd tə kɹiːˈeɪt sˈʌtʃ ɐ tɹˈeɪd jˈuːniən ɪn ˈɛsiə wˌɪtʃ wʌzɐ mˈʌtʃ dᵻbˈeɪɾᵻd ɐpɹˈoʊtʃ tʊ ˌɪnstɪtˈuːʃənəlˌaɪzɪŋ ɹˈiːdʒənəl ˈɛsiə stɹˈʌktʃɚz.
When the Uruguay Round of discussions to create more liberalized world trade was aborted in autumn 1997, the Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad attempted to create such a trade union in ESEA which was a much debated approach to institutionalizing regional ESEA structures.