The Transition From Bilateral To Multilateral Free Trade Agreements As A Multiplier Process

Scientific Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Economics - Foreign Trade Theory, Trade Policy, grade: 97.5%, Ottawa University, course: Multinational Business Policy, language: English, abstract: Stemming from the ongoing globalization, the process of global integration and international trade has accelerated ever since. Where back in the days the trade was more or less bounded to inter-regional trade with customers, partners and countries in close proximity, nowadays goods are shipped throughout the world, costs of transportation have decreased, time to market has increased and thus the needs and desires can be served almost instantly throughout the world particularly because of the continuous support of the WTO, where "a plethora of bilateral and regional trading and economic cooperation agreements have been mushrooming globally, and increasingly in the Asia-Pacific, generating a wave of "new regionalism" in Asia" (Sen; Srivastava 2009: 194). Concerned by the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, the ASEAN countries were under the impression of a slowdown in pace of trade liberalization and thus this put pressure on these countries to engage sustainably in mutual beneficial trade and economic integration. By that, "at a theoretical level regional economic integration is being taken to mean deepening of intra-regional trade, expansion of mutual foreign direct investment (FDI) and harmonization of commercial regulations, standards and practices." (Ekanayake; Veeramacheneni 2009: 2). This proceeding integration in ASEAN has mainly been motivated by the intention to create an attractive production base and to satisfy the rising competitive challenge on the part of China and India for both, domestic and foreign companies. (Hew; Sen 2004: 1-2). The impact especially of the ASEAN countries has raised over time, mainly in comparison to the OECD countries. "At the same time that developing Asia‟s share in ASEAN trade has been rising substantially (from about one-third t

Scientific Essay from the year 2010 in the subject Economics - Foreign Trade Theory, Trade Policy, grade: 97.5%, Ottawa University, course: Multinational Business Policy, language: English, abstract: Stemming from the ongoing globalization, the process of global integration and international trade has accelerated ever since. Where back in the days the trade was more or less bounded to inter-regional trade with customers, partners and countries in close proximity, nowadays goods are shipped throughout the world, costs of transportation have decreased, time to market has increased and thus the needs and desires can be served almost instantly throughout the world particularly because of the continuous support of the WTO, where “a plethora of bilateral and regional trading and economic cooperation agreements have been mushrooming globally, and increasingly in the Asia-Pacific, generating a wave of “new regionalism” in Asia” (Sen; Srivastava 2009: 194). Concerned by the Asian financial crisis in 1997-1998, the ASEAN countries were under the impression of a slowdown in pace of trade liberalization and thus this put pressure on these countries to engage sustainably in mutual beneficial trade and economic integration. By that, “at a theoretical level regional economic integration is being taken to mean deepening of intra-regional trade, expansion of mutual foreign direct investment (FDI) and harmonization of commercial regulations, standards and practices.” (Ekanayake; Veeramacheneni 2009: 2). This proceeding integration in ASEAN has mainly been motivated by the intention to create an attractive production base and to satisfy the rising competitive challenge on the part of China and India for both, domestic and foreign companies. (Hew; Sen 2004: 1-2). The impact especially of the ASEAN countries has raised over time, mainly in comparison to the OECD countries. “At the same time that developing Asia‟s share in ASEAN trade has been rising substantially (from about one-third to nearly one-half of total ASEAN exports and imports over the 1990-2004 period), the share of major OECD countries has fallen commensurately.” (Naya; Plummer 2006: 231). As a reason for that “both trade and financial liberalization are believed to have propelled faster the long-run economic growth of the East Asian economies.” (Masron; Yusop 2008: 292).

The global financial crisis of 2008/9 is the Great Depression of the 21st century. For many though, the similarities stop at the Wall Street Crash as the current generation of policymakers have acted quickly to avoid the mistakes of the past. Yet the global crisis has made room for mistakes all of its own. While governments have apparently kept to their word on refraining from protectionist measures in the style of 1930s tariffs, there has been a disturbing rise in "murky protectionism." Seemingly benign, these crisis-linked policies are twisted to favour domestic firms, workers and investors. This book, first published as an eBook on VoxEU.org in March 2009, brings together leading trade policy practitioners and experts - including Australian Trade Minister Simon Crean and former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo. Initially its aim was to advise policymakers heading in to the G20 meeting in London, but since the threat of murky protectionism persists, so too do their warnings.

Handbook of Commercial Policy explores three main topics that permeate the study of commercial policy. The first section presents a broad set of basic empirical facts regarding the pattern and evolution of commercial policy, with the second section investigating the crosscutting legal issues relating to the purpose and design of agreements. Final sections cover key issues of commercial policy in the modern global economy. Every chapter in the book provides coverage from the perspectives of multilateral, and where appropriate, preferential trade agreements. While most other volumes are policy-oriented, this comprehensive guide explores the ways that intellectual thinking and rigor organize research, further making frontier-level synthesis and current theoretical, and empirical, research accessible to all. Covers the research areas that are critical for understanding how the world of commercial policy has changed, especially over the last 20 years Presents the way in which research on the topic has evolved Scrutinizes the economic modeling of bargaining and legal issues Useful for examining the theory and empirics of commercial policy

East Asia is the region of the world that is changing fastest in terms of trade arrangements. Dozens of free-trade agreements are signed every year, turning a complex situation into the East Asian noodle bowl of FTAs. This book addresses the crucial question posed by these new agreements how do they affect business? While many studies have focused on government-to-government issues, this book gets to the heart of the matter, studying what it means for the firms actually doing the trade and investment. I recommend this book to any serious student of trade, particularly those interested in understanding the rapidly evolving landscape in this most dynamic part of the world. Richard Baldwin, Professor of International Economics, Graduate Institute, Geneva, Switzerland The pursuit of more than one hundred Free Trade Agreements in East Asia is quietly producing a fundamental change in the global economic architecture. This path-breaking new volume provides an indispensable guide to the practical effect of such agreements on commercial transactions in the region. It is a must-read for businessmen and policymakers who seek to both understand the impact of FTAs in the real world and expand their contributions to economic growth and development. C. Fred Bergsten, Director, Peterson Institute for International Economics, US [East Asia] needs to think about appropriate measures to overcome the Asian FTA noodle bowl in the future. In this vein, the study suggests several practical measures including encouraging rationalization and flexibility of rules of origin, upgrading origin administration, improving business participation in FTA consultations, and strengthening institutional support systems for SMEs. . . It is hoped that this study will contribute to strengthening regional trade policies in Asia and compatibilities with global trade rules. Haruhiko Kuroda, President, Asian Development Bank This is a valuable contribution in a crowded field. Kawai and Wignaraja have gone beyond familiar arguments about the relative merits of regionalism and multilateralism to ask businesses what it all means to them. Policymakers should take note. Patrick Low, Chief Economist, WTO For policymakers in the region, the debate is no longer between regionalism and multilateralism. The real question is how we should create the model for regionalism that will become the building blocks to a multilateral trading system and avoid raising costs of doing business from the noodle bowl effect. Therefore the comparative and micro-level research found in this book provides valuable insights on the impact of FTAs on businesses. These insights will be relevant input as policymakers forge ahead in implementing regional FTAs, thinking of ways to amend and improve on them and, most importantly, harmonize or consolidate between existing regional FTAs in East Asia. Mari Pangestu, Minister of Trade, Indonesia The spread of Asia s free trade agreements (FTAs) has sparked an important debate on the impact of such agreements on business activity. This pioneering study uses new evidence from surveys of East Asian exporters including Japan, the People s Republic of China, the Republic of Korea and three ASEAN economies of the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand to shed light on the FTA debate. Critics are concerned that FTAs erode the multilateral trading process and foster an alarming noodle bowl of overlapping regulations and rules of origin requirements which may be costly to business. Asia s Free Trade Agreements makes key recommendations for improving business use of FTA preferences, reducing costs of FTAs and creating a region-wide FTA. This well-researched and documented book will appeal to undergraduate and postgraduate students in international business, international economics, economic development, public administration and public policy. Academics, researchers and members of think-tanks around the world will also benefit from this book as will trad

Jagdish Bhagwati, the internationally renowned economist who uniquely combines a reputation as the leading scholar of international trade with a substantial presence in public policy on the important issues of the day, shines here a critical light on Preferential Trade Agreements, revealing how the rapid spread of PTAs endangers the world trading system. Numbering by now well over 300, and rapidly increasing, these preferential trade agreements, many taking the form of Free Trade Agreements, have re-created the unhappy situation of the 1930s, when world trade was undermined by discriminatory practices. Whereas this was the result of protectionism in those days, ironically it is a result of misdirected pursuit of free trade via PTAs today. The world trading system is at risk again, the author argues, and the danger is palpable. Writing with his customary wit, panache and elegance, Bhagwati documents the growth of these PTAs, the reasons for their proliferation, and their deplorable consequences which include the near-destruction of the non-discrimination which was at the heart of the postwar trade architecture and its replacement by what he has called the spaghetti bowl of a maze of preferences. Bhagwati also documents how PTAs have undermined the prospects for multilateral freeing of trade, serving as stumbling blocks, instead of building blocks, for the objective of reaching multilateral free trade. In short, Bhagwati cogently demonstrates why PTAs are Termites in the Trading System.

Provides theoretical and applied contributions connected by the methodological approach to the use of general equilibrium model.

The first comprehensive and in-depth economic and regulatory analysis of a possible Free Trade Area (FTA) between China and the EU.

Since the first edition of The World Trading System was published in 1989, the Uruguay Round of trade negotiations has been completed, and most governments have ratified and are in the process of implementing the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT). In the Uruguay Round, more than 120 nations negotiated for over eight years, to produce a document of some 26,000 pages. This new edition of The World Trading System takes account of these and other developments. Like the first edition, however, its treatment of topical issues is grounded in the fundamental legal, constitutional, institutional, and political realities that mold trade policy. Thus the book continues to serve as an introduction to the study of trade law and policy. Two basic premises of The World Trading System are that economic concerns are central to foreign affairs, and that national economies are growing more interdependent. The author presents the economic principles of international trade policy and then examines how they operate under real- world constraints. In particular, he examines the extremely elaborate system of rules that governs international economic relations. Until now, the bulk of international trade policy has addressed trade in goods; issues inadequately addressed by policy include trade in services, intellectual property rights, certain investment measures, and agriculture. The author highlights the tension between legal rules, designed to create predictability and stability, and the governments need to make exceptions to solve short-term problems. He also looks at weaknesses of international trade policy, especially as it applies to developing countries and economies in transition. He concludes with a look at issues that will shape international trade policy well into the twenty-first century.

This title provides a comprehensive introduction to the key issues in trade and liberalization of services. Providing a useful overview of the players involved, the barriers to trade, and case studies in a number of service industries, this is ideal for policymakers and students interested in trade.