Indirect subsidization of domestic industries can occur where, for example, a financial contribution is provided to one entity but the associated benefit goes to another. This may materialize where (1) a financial contribution to an upstream producer results in a benefit to a downstream...

As tariff barriers, of traditional and typical policy instruments in international trade, have been reduced significantly under preferential trade agreements as well as the multilateral trading system, non-tariff measures (NTMs), especially those of technical barriers to trade (TBT), become more...

Given different legal regimes which govern the global and regional trading systems, the WTO as such cannot stop the proliferation of RTAs. Nevertheless, the WTO can oversee them through its political and judicial review procedures. Notably, Article XXIV of the GATT, Article V of the GATS and the...

In order to argue that the proposed FTAAP is the second-best policy option for APEC member economies and the world economy com-pared to the stalled first-best multilateral liberalization effort like the DDA (Doha Development Agenda), we examine existing arguments for and against the proposed...

In the early years of the twenty-first century proposals reflecting two distinct “visions” of Asia-Pacific integration were being advanced for consolidating the regional trade architecture through the establishment of region-wide trade agreements. The rise of East Asian regionalism was...

Managing urban growth in countries requires that leaders plan ahead using national physical plans that, among others, safeguard land for utilities and physical infrastructure decades ahead, deliberately configures transport networks (including strategic seaports, controlled expressways and, if...

Well-developed infrastructure systems and services are vital means of enhancing the connectivity of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member economies. In essence, efforts by APEC to enhance connectivity through infrastructure should be considered regional public goods since these create...