Consolidation and Harmonization of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs): A Path Toward Global Free Trade

Some economists worry about the ‘spaghetti bowl phenomenon’ expected from proliferating regional trade agreements (RTAs). In particular, the complicated web of hub-and-spoke type of overlapping free trade agreements (FTAs) can result in high costs for verifying rules of origin (RoO) and trade diversion or suppression effects. This explains why almost half of the RTAs notified to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)/World Trade Organization (WTO) are currently inactive. This research attempts to provide best practices for RTAs to enhance global free trade by mitigating these negative effects. More specifically, we quantitatively estimate the trade creation and diversion effects of harmonized and cumulated RoO (bilateral, diagonal, and full cumulation) for RTAs established under GATT Article XXIV and under the Enabling Clause by adopting a Gravity regression analysis. We find that (i) RTAs in general create trade among members and divert trade from nonmembers; (ii) RTAs should be established under the comprehensive GATT Article XXIV, rather than the piecemeal Enabling Clause; and (iii) full cumulation is the most optimal provision in terms of creating the most intra-bloc trade and diverting the least extra-bloc trade. Overall, we strongly recommend that RTAs should employ full cumulation of RoO under GATT Article XXIV. This strategy will enable regionalism to be compatible with multilateralism, to be sustainable in the long run, and finally to lead us to global free trade.regional trade agreements, rules of origin, cumulation, gravity, GATT Article XXIV, Enabling Clause

Modes of foreign direct investment and patterns of trade: Why do multinational enterprises come To China?

This paper investigates the link between patterns of trade and modes of foreign direct investment (FDI) by utilizing exports, imports, and inward FDI data for China over the period 1998 to 2007. We construct a modified gravity equation to find the main modes of inward FDI into China with considering spatially interdependent third country effect. The problem of endogeneity is controlled by applying the system generalized method of moments (GMM) estimation technique. We find that there is no evidence of statistically significant substitutability and complementarity between bilateral trade and FDI in the aggregate data. On the contrary, the trade-diverting third country effect of inward FDI is proven to be strong. As we decompose the aggregate trade goods into final and intermediate goods, we find that there is strong evidence of vertical FDI for importing intermediate goods from the home country and exporting final goods back to the home country. However, the motivation of vertical FDI has been diminishing and the modes of export-platform and complex vertical FDI have begun to emerge. This implies that China has imported intermediate inputs from the home country of FDI, produced final goods or parts and components, and exported them back to the home country. Recently, however, we have noticed that there has been a diversion trend of the vertical linkage from home country to third countries. This indicates that the main mode of inward FDI into China has been shifting from “home export base” to “third country export base”.patterns of trade, foreign direct investment, multinational enterprises, China

Regional Trade Agreements in East Asia: Will They Be Sustainable?

Searching for sustainable regional trade agreements (RTAs) for East Asia, we quantitatively evaluated the likely impact of proposed East Asian RTA strategies─(i) the AFTA (a being-left-alone strategy), (ii) an ASEAN Hub RTA (a hub-and-spoke type of overlapping RTA strategy), (iii) the AFTA vs a China-Japan-Korea RTA (a duplicating or competing RTA strategy), (iv) an ASEAN+3 RTA (an expansionary RTA strategy)─on the East Asian economies and the world economy with respect to consumption, production, volume of trade, and terms of trade effect by applying a multi-country and multi-sector CGE model. We found that there was no perfectly Pareto improving RTA strategy among the four different scenarios proposed for East Asia relative to the existing AFTA. However, the expansionary ASEAN+3 RTA can be a sustainable Pareto efficient policy option because the members’ gains were significantly positive enough with more evenly distributed gains between members. The effects on world welfare were also positive enough and the negative effect on nonmembers was not very significant. More interestingly, if the East Asian countries are willing to cooperate with their Pacific Basin partners to form an APEC level of RTA, the evolution toward a global trade bloc can be counted as a Pareto improvement for East Asian economies in every aspect we measure.regional trade agreements; sustainability; Pareto efficiency; CGE model; East Asia

Regional Liberalization of Trade in Services

As the impact of trade in services on the current global financial crisis appears to overtake that of trade in goods, we propose to examine liberalization of trade in services through regional trade agreements (RTAs). The regional liberalization of trade in services is expected to generate significant welfare gains both in the services and goods sectors. However, the quantitative effect of RTAs under GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) Article V has not been sufficiently investigated. We attempt to fill this gap by applying a gravity regression analysis to four major services sectors—financial services, business services, communication services, and transportation services—while controlling for both country-specific and time-varying importer and exporter fixed effects. We find that (i) the RTAs under GATS Article V create services trade among members and do not divert services trade from nonmembers, but the trade-enhancing effect is sector-specific; (ii) the sector-specific trade-enhancing effect ranges from the highest in business services sector to the lowest in transportation services; (iii) the trade effect on aggregate services trade is weaker when we control for the time-varying multilateral trade resistance factor with the time-varying exporter and importer fixed effect, however, the sectoral effects show a reverse pattern; (iv) there is no anticipatory effect expected from services RTA negotiations, unlike the case of trade in goods; (v) there is a complementary relationship between goods and services imports; and (vi) the trade-enhancing effect of RTAs is stronger between developed members compared to the effect between developed and developing countries.trade in services, regional trade agreements, gravity, GATS

ASEAN’s Free Trade Agreements with the People’s Republic of China, Japan, and the Republic of Korea: A Qualitative and Quantitative Analysis

Expanding trade with East Asia’s “Big Three” economic giants—the People’s Republic of China (PRC), Japan, and the Republic of Korea—offers a new potential source of growth for ASEAN in the post-global-crisis period. In fact, ASEAN has been actively pursuing trade liberalization with the Big Three. The central objective of this paper is to qualitatively and quantitatively assess the different permutations of ASEAN’s free trade agreements (FTAs) with the Big Three (e.g., ASEAN–PRC, ASEAN–Japan, ASEAN–Republic of Korea, and ASEAN+3). Our qualitative analysis is based on the theory of economic integration, and our quantitative analysis is based on a CGE model. The two types of analyses both suggest that an ASEAN+3 FTA would deliver the largest benefits for the region.ASEAN; People’s Republic of China (PRC); Japan; Republic of Korea; trade; free trade agreement; free trade area; CGE model

A Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific (FTAAP): Is It Desirable?

This paper evaluates whether the proposed FTAAP is a desirable policy option for APEC member economies and the world economy. More specifically, this paper quantitatively investigates whether the FTAAP satisfies conditions for a trade bloc to generate positive and sufficient net trade creation effect. In addition, this paper estimates the likely impact of the FTAAP by using a CGE model analysis. Based on statistical data analysis, this paper strongly argues that the FTAAP can be a desirable regional trade bloc able to generate positive gains from freer trade. From the ex-ante scenario analysis using both static and capital accumulation CGE Models, this paper concludes that the FTAAP has great potential for improving welfare of participating APEC economies and will boost economic growth in the region. In particular, the FTAAP would be even better if it can be linked with liberalization of trade in services and enhanced trade facilitation.Regional Trade Agreement (RTA), APEC, FTAAP, Computable General Equilibrium (CGE), Trade in Services, Trade Facilitation

The PRC’s Free Trade Agreements with ASEAN, Japan, and the Republic of Korea: A Comparative Analysis

The role of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) in East Asia’s recovery from the recent global financial and economic crisis highlighted the PRC’s growing role as an engine of growth for the region. From the viewpoint of the PRC, there are many potential gains from entering into free trade agreements (FTAs) with its neighbors, who collectively form a large and fast-growing market. In this paper we qualitatively and quantitatively assess the four main permutations of the PRC’s FTAs with the region’s major economies: PRC–ASEAN, PRC–Japan, PRC–Republic of Korea, and ASEAN+3. We compare the effects of the FTAs on the PRC’s output and welfare. Our comparative analysis shows that the PRC would gain from all three bilateral FTAs, while gaining the most from a larger region-wide FTA such as ASEAN+3.ASEAN; PRC; Japan; Republic of Korea; trade; free trade agreement; free trade area; CGE model

Is the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA) an Optimal Free Trade Area?

The 1997/98 Asian currency crisis has led a once high-flying East Asia to realize its vulnerability to external shocks. This realization has given strong impetus to greater economic integration among East Asian economies, with the ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Area (AKFTA) a case in point. This paper qualitatively and quantitatively examines the economic feasibility of AKFTA: qualitatively using the theory of economic integration, and quantitatively by applying a CGE model. Our two-dimensional analysis provides some, but not overwhelming, support for AKFTA's prospects as an effective means of promoting trade between ASEAN and the Republic of Korea.ASEAN; Korea; trade; free trade area; economic integration

Proliferating Regional Trade Arrangements: Why and Whither?

This paper investigates why regional trade arrangements (RTAs) are proliferating extensively and how the effects of multiple RTAs, by interacting with each other, evolve over time. Our empirical analysis, based on an extended gravity model utilizing a large panel data set of 175 countries from 1948 to 1999, shows that RTAs on average increase global trade by raising intra-bloc trade without damaging extra-bloc trade. The net trade effects, however, heavily depend on the types of RTA strategic evolution over time, which we group as ¡°expansionary¡± RTAs, ¡°duplicate¡± RTAs or ¡°overlapping¡± RTAs. We find that countries excluded from an RTA can benefit more from duplicating a separate RTA than from joining an existing RTA. This result explains why the number of bilateral trade blocs, rather than the membership size of existing RTAs, is currently exploding. We also find that the net trade creation effects of RTAs are substantially lower for countries participating in overlapping RTAs. This result suggests that it is less likely that the currently proliferating RTAs will completely merge and lead the world economy to global free trade. Our empirical results are robust to controlling for the characteristics of countries that may influence the impact of RTAs.RTA, Global Trade, Regional Trade, Trade Creation, Trade Diversion

Regional Trade Agreements in East Asia: Will They Be Sustainable?

Searching for sustainable regional trade agreements (RTAs) for East Asia, we quantitatively evaluated the likely impact of proposed East Asian RTA strategies─(i) the AFTA (a being-left-alone strategy), (ii) an ASEAN Hub RTA (a hub-and-spoke type of overlapping RTA strategy), (iii) the AFTA vs a China-Japan-Korea RTA (a duplicating or competing RTA strategy), (iv) an ASEAN+3 RTA (an expansionary RTA strategy)─on the East Asian economies and the world economy with respect to consumption, production, volume of trade, and terms of trade effect by applying a multi-country and multi-sector CGE model. We found that there was no perfectly Pareto improving RTA strategy among the four different scenarios proposed for East Asia relative to the existing AFTA. However, the expansionary ASEAN+3 RTA can be a sustainable Pareto efficient policy option because the members’ gains were significantly positive enough with more evenly distributed gains between members. The effects on world welfare were also positive enough and the negative effect on nonmembers was not very significant. More interestingly, if the East Asian countries are willing to cooperate with their Pacific Basin partners to form an APEC level of RTA, the evolution toward a global trade bloc can be counted as a Pareto improvement for East Asian economies in every aspect we measure