This paper provides a horizontal comparison among various arrangements for regional economic integration, focusing on the types of disciplines on application of antidumping measures, and thereby attempts to identify prerequisites that must be satisfied for the introduction of such disciplines. Regional economic integration arrangements under survey can be classified into three groups, depending on how they deal with antidumping measures. First, there are those that prohibit the application of antidumping measures, such as the European Community (EC), the European Economic Area (EEA), the Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA), the Canada-Chile Free Trade Agreement, and the Agreement between the EFTA States and Singapore. Second, there are those that impose "WTO-plus" substantive disciplines on antidumping measures stricter than provided for under the WTO Antidumping Agreement. Included in this group are the Agreement between New Zealand and Singapore on a Closer Economic Partnership, and the Agreement between Jordan and Singapore on the Establishment of a Free Trade Area. The third group of arrangements provides for virtually no WTO-plus discipline on antidumping measures, as seen in a series of free trade agreements (FTAs) recently concluded by the United States. This paper analyzes experiences with these different types of regional arrangements in light of various theories on conditions for the occurrence of dumping as well as on the raison d'etre of antidumping measures, thereby identifying prerequisites for abolishing antidumping measures. First, it is necessary to remove "government-imposed market separation" by achieving free trade. Second, "private-sector-caused market separation" must be removed by harmonizing competition laws. Third, if substitute disciplines and enforcement cooperation, which could prevent and/or counteract dumping, are introduced in competition law, it would ease the way for the abolition of antidumping measures. In this sense, whether or not abolish antidumping measures may be regarded as an "indicator of the degree of market integration." Meanwhile, to enable the introduction of WTO-plus disciplines on antidumping measures, countries concerned must share interests in setting precedents, for instance, for WTO negotiations on antidumping rules. They must also not be in a state of unbalance with antidumping measures being applied by one country to the other but not vice versa. These findings would have policy implications for the development of the WTO antidumping negotiations as well as for Japan's negotiations for future FTAs and economic partnership agreements (EPAs).
