In order to advance regional integration in East Asia, there needs to be a rapid expansion of FTAs. The obstacles in promotion of FTAs need to be resolved. Some of the features in realising FTAs are: Strong political leadership which keeps Japan's future firmly in mind; strong support from public;...

Lack of full regional connectivity is one of the major constraints hindering regional growth and integration in Asia, as well as with the rest of the world. One of the conclusions of this paper is that Asia must strengthen its physical connectivity to make it a conduit for international trade...

This article analyses the importance of international commercial service transactions relating to both trade and investment, which form an essential element of analyzing production fragmentation and economic integration in Asia. Following an aggregative analysis the authors discusses data...

The formulation of appropriate criteria for origin determination is crucial for any country or regional trading block interested in ensuring growth and economic. Perhaps this is the single most important reason that explains the aggressive negotiating stance adopted by various member countries...

A lively debate is taking place over the impact of free trade agreements (FTAs) on East Asia's business between those who view the agreements as a harmful Asian "noodle bowl"—i.e., overlapping regional trade agreements—of trade deals and others who see net beneficial effects in...

Regional economic integration agreements are considered to be important policy mechanisms to address regional developmental asymmetries. The Asian reality is characterized by developmental asymmetries across countries on the one hand and a lack of comprehensive pan-Asian formal regional economic...

the objective of this report is to analyse the existing and potential links that can be established between current Geographical Indications (GIs) and regional sustainable development. A case study approach, centred on European case studies, has been carried out. The European Union appears as a...

This paper argues that IBSA( India, Brazil, South Africa) as opposed to IBSAC (with China) is a far more coherent group when it comes to WTO negotiations as its interests coincide given the agenda that seeks to free trade asymmetrically with the developed countries having to concede more on...

An East Asian community(EAC) is an idea now being seriously pursued in spite of significant challenges. Proliferating bilateral deals in Asia could emerge as building blocks towards the EAC, provided they are comprehensive, ROOs simple and are in the EPA mould. Attention needs to be given to...

This article traces the history of negotiations in the WTO on Trade Facilitation, the only Singapore issue that has survived beyond Doha and Cancun. Last ten years of sustained work by the negotiators in the WTO has considerably narrowed down the areas for final agreement. The author, a key...