Trade policy in Asia has switched from non-discriminatory unilateral liberalisation, reinforced by GATT/ WTO commitments, to discriminatory FTAs. The paper surveys the FTA activity of the major regional players: China, India, the ASEAN countries, Japan and South Korea. It concludes that emerging...

In late 2006, Peter Mandelson, the EU trade commissioner, announced a new EU policy on free trade agreements (FTAs). This is contained in the European Commission's Global Europe Communication. The core of this new chapter in EU trade policy is planned FTAs with three Asian partners, India, ASEAN...

This is the season for regional-integration initiatives in Asia. There is talk of region-wide FTAs, and there are east-Asian initiatives on financial and monetary cooperation. But grand visions for Asian regional blocs are not achievable. Regional economic integration is most developed in east...