The paper examines the policies pursued by the Philippines in response to the increasing economic integration and interdependence of nations and regions around the world, focusing in particular on the country’s multi-track approach to trade and investment liberalization. The country’s...

The government has implemented substantial trade and investment policy reforms during the last two decades following a three-track approach involving unilateral, regional and multilateral modalities towards freer trade and investment. The reforms resulted to improvements in domestic resource...

The paper discusses the ASEAN + 3 integration in the context of the literature on hub-and-spoke regionalism. It argues that, provided proper rules of origin are incorporated, the different bilateral arrangements between ASEAN countries and each of the three East Asian economies are building...

The world trading environment has witnessed the proliferation of regional trading arrangements during the last decade. This development was accompanied by the perceived threat that this may bring to the rules-based multilateral trading system. The ASEAN for one have not only reaffirmed their...

From a preferential tariff rate, ASEAN has decided to move to a free trade area by the first decade of the 21st century and the creation of an ASEAN economic region by the year 2020. Towards this end, member countries are expected to jointly address various trade concerns. Through unity and...

As APEC provides venue for exploiting trade and investment gains in an integrated market, it allows the U.S. to strengthen its ties with the world’s dynamic economies and creates a global policy environment that promotes liberalization. Despite the tremendous benefits, however, the American...

This paper is part of the Philippine study for the Mid-Term Review (MTR) of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) Blueprint, a project of the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA). A milestone in ASEAN economic cooperation is the Cebu Declaration on the Acceleration of the...

Data indicate that there has been an increasing integration of world financial markets. These have raised fears that countries have become vulnerable to external policies and events. This article discusses the need for policy coordination when there is interdependence among countries. The...

The ASEAN Economic Community Blueprint targets an ASEAN single market in 2015. This is an ambitious reform agenda that seeks to ensure the free flow of services, investment, and skilled labor along with the free flow of goods and the freer flow of capital in the ASEAN region. For logistics...

Data indicate that there has been an increasing integration of world financial markets. These have raised fears that countries have become vulnerable to external policies and events. This article discusses the need for policy coordination when there is interdependence among countries. The...