A region-wide free trade agreement in Asia

Pradumna B. Rana, 25 June 2012

China, Japan, and South Korea are currently negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) lending support to the possibility of an agreement for the South-East Asian region as a whole. This column calls for more of the same – and quickly.

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The Trilateral Summit last month announced that negotiations would begin later this year on a China/Japan/South Korea FTA or the C/J/K FTA (Joint Declaration 2012). This suggests that two pathways to a region-wide FTA are starting to evolve in Asia. One is the ASEAN-led East Asian FTA and the Comprehensive Economic Partnership for East Asia (CEPEA) comprising the ASEAN+6 including India.

Topics: International trade
Tags: ASEAN, China, free trade agreement, Japan, South Korea

The next steps in ASEAN+3 monetary integration

Pradumna B. Rana, 27 May 2012

Now is probably not a great time to be talking about further monetary integration – even if it is in Asia. But this column argues that the ASEAN+3 has taken a number of significant steps recently to further deepen monetary integration. The next steps should be to introduce a regional weighted currency basket and expand membership.

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On 3 May 2012, on the sidelines of the Asian Development Bank’s Annual Meeting in Manila, the ASEAN+3 took a number of significant steps to further deepen monetary integration in the region (Joint Ministerial Statement 2012).

Topics: Global economy, International finance, Macroeconomic policy
Tags: ASEAN, ASEAN+3, Pacific, single currency, South Asia, Southeast Asia

In the European Monetary Fund proposal, a chance to get the IMF right

Kati Suominen, 17 March 2010

Discussions over a European Monetary Fund have gained momentum over the last week. This column argues that regionalising the IMF is sub-optimal. But discussions over a European Fund offer an opportunity for a complementary fund, which can offer a reference for Asian countries.

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Whatever its merits for rescuing European nations mired in crisis, the German finance minister’s 7 March proposal for a European Monetary Fund provides an opportunity for Europe and the US to get the future of the IMF right.

Topics: EU institutions, International finance
Tags: ASEAN, European Monetary Fund, IMF

Disentangling market access effects of preferential trading arrangements

Jaime de Melo, Céline Carrère, Bolormaa Tumurchudur Klok, 21 November 2009

Almost all economies are party to preferential trade schemes. But how much are they “giving away” or “receiving” in preferential access? This column presents a compact representation of effective market access and applies it to the proposed ASEAN-EU trade agreement.

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Almost every country in the world is engaged in at least one preferential trading arrangement (PTA), and the World Bank (2005) estimates that the average WTO member is engaged in six.

Topics: International trade
Tags: ASEAN, EU, market access, preferential trade agreements

Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism

18 - 19 September 2008, Tokyo

East Asia is the world’s most dynamic region in terms of the growth of incomes, trade and foreign direct investment. It is also experiencing a rapid growth the number of regional trade agreements. Although the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has emerged as the de facto integration hub for FTAs, the lattice of trade agreements is highly complex – a veritable noodle bowl for agreements. How can East Asia ensure that the region’s noodle bowl of FTAs can be consolidated into a single East Asian FTA—a stepping stone toward global integration?
This conference, sponsored by the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Graduate Institute (Geneva)'s Centre for Trade and Economic Integration considers the way forward for "taming the tangle" of trade arrangements in Asia.

Organizer(s):
Masahiro Kawai (ADBI) & Richard Baldwin (CTEI)
Type:
Conference
Location:
Tokyo
Attendance:
Closed attendance
Contact:
Tsuchiya Kayo <ktsuchiya@adbi.org>
Institution:
Asian Development Bank Institute
More information:
http://www.adbi.org/event/2534.multilateralizing.asian.regionalism/

Disclaimer: Vox is not responsible for the accuracy of this information.

Topic(s):
International trade
Tags:
ASEAN, Asia, multilateralism, regional trade agreements, regionalism

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