Free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific a decade on: evaluating the past, looking to the future

Dent, Christopher M.

doi:10.1093/irap/lcp022

Cited by 28 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Moreover, if non-WTO notified and under-negotiation FTAs are included, the current count of regional 'initiatives' rises to 101 (ADB 2011). As a result, the Asia-Pacific region has quickly been catapulted from the status of an FTA laggard to become the most active site for FTA negotiation globally (Dent 2010).…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For some, this development in the region is viewed as a purely defensive move necessitated by broader global developments. Extending Baldwin's (1999) 'Domino Theory' of regionalism, several have suggested that as FTA proliferation in Europe and the Americas during the 1990s discriminated against Asian firms in their key export markets, regional governments were forced to (reluctantly) launch their own initiatives to neutralise disadvantages associated with being 'FTA outsiders' (Dent 2010;Dieter 2006). Others, however, are more willing to attribute the shift to underlying changes in governments' trade policy preferences.…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such arguments are based on the observation that most bilateral agreements signed by East Asian countries in the first decade of the 21st Century are: (a) between countries with low bilateral trade volumes (Dent 2010);and (b) have narrow sectoral coverage and low tariff commitments (Ravenhill 2008); indicating that both their economic rationales and effects are relatively weak. Instead, it is claimed that political motives have underscored the trend.…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Wilson

2012

The Pacific Review

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ABSTRACT:Following a historical commitment to multilateralism, in the last decade the trade policy initiatives of many states in the Asia-Pacific have turned to bilateralism through the negotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs). The corresponding proliferation of regional FTAs has thus far been understood to result from three broad motivations: a desire to advance trade liberalisation beyond WTO disciplines; mercantilistic efforts to secure preferential access to key export markets; and/or attempts to use FTAs to secure non-economic political gains. This paper argues that since the middle of the decade a new motive has emerged -the use of FTAs to improve resource securityparticularly by import dependent resource consumers in Northeast Asia. As yet unexamined in the literature, this paper seeks to document and explain this trend. It analyses the recent emergence of resource security concerns as a new FTA motive; the corresponding shifts in the FTA strategies and initiatives of Japan, Korea and China; and the dynamics of an emerging race for resource-related FTAs between the three governments. Based on this analysis, it demonstrates that resource-related FTAs could potentially improve consumers' resource security through either the liberalisation of trade, the extension of investment protections, or broader diplomatic gains with the targeted supplier. However, owing to supplier reluctance to enter into binding policy commitments for resource industries, their track record shows success in only the diplomatic dimension, and the prospects for a strengthening of their effects are poor. As a result, it is argued that while resource concerns have become a key motive for FTA initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, they have not substantively improved resource security for its import-dependent states and are unlikely to do so in the future.2

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Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Wilson

2012

The Pacific Review

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“…In some domains, the region has been defined too narrowly. For example, while efforts to promote trade liberalisation might be best located at the level of the 'Asia-Pacific' given regional economies deep trade ties to extra-regional partners, the bulk of recent free trade agreements have been between countries with relatively low trade volumes (Dent 2010). Conversely, some regional issues are referred to bodies arguably too large to be effective, of which APEC's attempts at promoting trade and investment liberalisation provide a classic example.…”

Section: Nevertheless and As Mitrany Feared Regionalism In Asia Is mentioning

confidence: 99%

“…At a functional level, Asia is replete with smaller-scale initiatives that have already lead to actual working regional cooperation. Asia is replete with functionally-discrete and smaller-scale in the economic sphere -albeit often the result of top-down initiatives rather than being the bottom-up phenomenon that (Dent 2010). ASEAN also promotes an extensive range of functionallydriven cooperation initiatives under the broad umbrella of its 'ASEAN Economic Community' initiative, hosting ministerial-level policy dialogues on issues as diverse as agriculture, telecommunications, energy, transport, finance, and tourism (see ASEAN 2014).…”

Section: Towards Functional Asian Regionalisms?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Towards Asian regional functional futures: bringing Mitrany back in?

Breslin

Wilson

2014

Australian Journal of International Affairs

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In the early years of the 21 st century, Asian regionalism is at a cross-road. While the region is home to a broad array of multilateral organisations, the record of these bodies in fostering effective and legitimate cooperation has been decidedly weak. Drawing on insights from the work of David Mitrany on international cooperation, this paper contends that the key problem facing Asian regionalism is a predilection for 'top-down' rather than 'bottom-up' regionalism strategies. This top-down strategy has involved efforts to find a single institutional design for regional cooperation (similar to the experience of Europe), which has been hindered by geopolitical rivalries and a lack of shared consensus around what constitutes the 'Asian region'. By considering the contours of inter-state competition in Asia, the track record of its existing regionalism efforts, and insights from comparative regional studies, it is instead argued that Asia's future is one of regions rather than a single region. As Mitrany suggests, the unique geopolitical context in Asia means that functionally-discrete and variegated strategies are likely to provide a more effective basis for regional cooperation. Indeed, trends towards such a functional approach to regionalism are already becoming evident in Asia today.

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Bilateral Trade Agreements and Human Security in Asia

Yamada

2012

The Political Economy of the Asia Pacific

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Free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific a decade on: evaluating the past, looking to the future

Cited by 28 publications

References 14 publications

Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Towards Asian regional functional futures: bringing Mitrany back in?

Bilateral Trade Agreements and Human Security in Asia

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