In November 2012, the United States and ASEAN agreed on a new framework for economic cooperation, called the U.S.-ASEAN Expanded Economic Engagement or E3. The initiative identified specific ways to facilitate U.S.-ASEAN trade and investment, increase efficiency and competitiveness of trade flows in ASEAN, and build greater awareness of commercial opportunities between the United States and ASEAN business communities. Even prior to that, the United States and ASEAN have significant relationships. The United States is ASEAN's Dialogue Partner since 1977 and the dialogue relations cover areas like political and security, economic and trade, social and cultural and other development cooperation. On economic front, the U.S.-ASEAN bilateral trade and investment relations are well established. While the United States is the fourth largest trading partner of ASEAN, ASEAN is ranked as the fifth largest trading partner of the United States. U.S. FDI stock in ASEAN countries was US$159.5 billion in 2011, up 11.2 per cent from 2010. With the uncertainties in the West, U.S. businesses are increasingly turning to the ASEAN region. Hence, the E3 agreement is viewed as an initiative to pave the way for trade facilitation, development of Information and Communications Technology and Investment principles and additional work on standards development and practices for better trade environment among the eleven countries. The U.S.-ASEAN E3 is also expected to facilitate the ASEAN-U.S. FTA, which can provide a basis for an enlarged TPP that, in the long run, can be transformed into a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) region.