Intellectual property rights--copyrights, trademarks, patents, trade secrets, and related rights--have become increasingly important with the advent of increased international trade, global and knowledge-based economy and fast developing technology. A strong intellectual property rights regime...

This paper compiles a database on the rules of origin (ROOs) of the ASEAN plus 1 FTAs--namely ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement, ASEAN-Korea FTA, ASEAN-China FTA, ASEAN-Japan Comprehensive Economic Partnership, ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand FTA. For further insights, database compilation is also done...

Within East Asia, the outward-oriented Philippine economy is a latecomer to using free trade agreements (FTAs) as a trade policy instrument and has relied heavily on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for regional liberalization. While negotiating FTAs has consumed scarce time...

The East Asian region is a major global economic player, given its economic size and potential. As such, Regional Economic Integration in East Asia could be considered as an important building bloc toward integration of the Asia-Pacific region. East Asia has made significant progress in creating...

The paper aims to add to the understanding of the issues and suggests a framework to move toward the use of best practice in ROOs. Rules of origin (ROO), originally designed as uncontroversial and neutral devise for authentication and statistical purposes, have evolved over time to accommodate...

Striking a balance between trade facilitation and preventing trade deflection is the single most difficult challenge with regard to the issue of rules of origin (ROO). ASEAN ROO is already considered as among the simplest in the world and still, in practice, results fall short of expectations....

The paper analyzes how various preferential trading arrangements deal with agriculture liberalization and examines a few case studies highlighting the provisions on agriculture. It assesses the effect of preferential trade agreements on agriculture trade flows in the case of ASEAN. It finds that...

This paper was designed to provide a policy guide in the formulation of the country’s position for RP-US FTA negotiations. After sieving through the relevant treaties and legislation in both the US and the Philippines, it was concluded that the implementation of treaty commitments in trade...

The United States of America is the top trading partner of the Philippines and also the top destination of highly skilled and professional Filipino workers. This paper explores the possibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) that covers the asymmetries of the two countries in labor, services and...

The participation of the Philippines in the global production network of multinational electronic companies has undoubtedly shaped the pattern and structure of the country’s international trade since the early 1990s. While the industry has remained the largest foreign exchange earner for the...