This report identifies the challenges and opportunities for trade and investment in the Asia-Pacific region concluding that with the right policies and strengthened regional cooperation, the region will be able to continue strong trade- and investment-led growth. With the continued stalling of the international Doha Round of negotiations, regional trade agreements remain an important approach to controlling protectionism. A fresh look at the rules under these agreements is recommended. The report emphasizes that governments need to step up efforts to improve the environment for business and investment.
International trade and investment have enabled many countries in the Asia-Pacific region to boost economic growth and have lifted millions out of poverty. As the Asia-Pacific region continues to thrive economically, trade and investment barriers are being dissolved and eliminated. As countries begin to depend on each other more, trade policy is gradually becoming a useful measure to achieve inclusive and sustainable development. Trade and investment are linked to the environment and social issues; hence, their impacts are also multi-dimensional. It has now been recognized that sustainable production and consumption are essential for sustainable development. Countries realize that they are not able to approach global and regional problems on their own and require cooperation, both at the level of government and business. As a result, the region has been active in concluding regional cooperation frameworks which routinely are centered on trade and investment. In the meantime, business has forged regional integration through the formation of regional value chains and production networks while governments have paved the way for the expansion of such production networks through the formation of regional trade agreements and economic partnerships. Thus, the Asia Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA), which is the oldest preferential trade agreement in the region with a large consumer base, can play an important role in filling this gap. Given a slow progress in the multilateral negotiations in the WTO, especially when the members have started questioning the utility of the negotiations after 15 years, and a lack of consensus on how to move forward, the regional trade agreements can play a vital role. Even if they pose a challenge to the multilateralism, selected liberalisation of trade and economy in present time can become a building block for future multilateral negotiations. One of the reasons for the surge in these preferential trade agreements is to make binding commitments on WTO-plus and WTO-beyond issues. While there are many agreements that exist in Asia and the Pacific, there is no such attempt to consolidate them in one umbrella framework. Understanding the benefits of the consolidation, one such initiative was started by ESCAP a few years back. The RECI initiate for market integration could well be facilitated by APTA; however, it cannot deliver unless it transforms itself in a new generation agreement. Regional integration and cooperation are also important to meet the 2030 agenda for sustainable development. Instead of wasting resources in discussing a new institutional framework, it would be more effective to use the existing framework and for the Asia-Pacific economies, the APTA provides an existing institutional platform. The cases discussed in this book prepare a ground for the future, and it is expected that all the stakeholders, member States of ESCAP, private sector as well as researchers would benefit from this publication on APTA: South-South Regional Integration and Sustainable Development.
ø Policy makers will benefit from the expert knowledge and policy lessons presented in this book, and development economists and researchers will profit from its critical examination of the world trading system. Undergraduate and postgraduate studen
This book guides the implementation of trade facilitation measures and reforms in Asia and the Pacific. It attempts to bridge the gaps among policy makers, practitioners, and economists by outlining operational guidance on how to assess the status of trade facilitation, what measures and reforms are necessary, and how to implement them at the national and regional levels. The reference book also provides international, regional, and national perspectives on trade facilitation.
Provides a state-of-the-art overview of international trade policy research The Handbook of Global Trade Policy offers readers a comprehensive resource for the study of international trade policy, governance, and financing. This timely and authoritative work presents contributions from a team of prominent experts that assess the policy implications of recent academic research on the subject. Discussions of contemporary research in fields such as economics, international business, international relations, law, and global politics help readers develop an expansive, interdisciplinary knowledge of 21st century foreign trade. Accessible for students, yet relevant for practitioners and researchers, this book expertly guides readers through essential literature in the field while highlighting new connections between social science research and global policy-making. Authoritative chapters address new realities of the global trade environment, global governance and international institutions, multilateral trade agreements, regional trade in developing countries, value chains in the Pacific Rim, and more. Designed to provide a well-rounded survey of the subject, this book covers financing trade such as export credit arrangements in developing economies, export insurance markets, climate finance, and recent initiatives of the World Trade Organization (WTO). This state-of-the-art overview: Integrates new data and up-to-date research in the field Offers an interdisciplinary approach to examining global trade policy Introduces fundamental concepts of global trade in an understandable style Combines contemporary economic, legal, financial, and policy topics Presents a wide range of perspectives on current issues surrounding trade practices and policies The Handbook of Global Trade Policy is a valuable resource for students, professionals, academics, researchers, and policy-makers in all areas of international trade, economics, business, and finance.
This report shows how smart trade and investment policies, and regulatory cooperation in the Asia and Pacific region can help economies tackle climate change, recover from the pandemic, and support resilient and sustainable development. Analyzing topics including global value chains, investment, the movement of people, and regional cooperation initiatives, it outlines the economic and environmental challenges the region currently faces. It explores how trade and investment policies can support climate action and highlights why a joined-up approach is essential to help deepen the digital economy, strengthen supply chains and foster greener businesses, markets, and trade.
Developing countries in the East Asia Pacific region will see stable economic growth this year, bolstered by a recovery in high-income economies and the market’s modest response so far to the Federal Reserve’s tapering of its quantitative easing, according to the East Asia Pacific Economic Update. Developing East Asia will grow by 7.1 percent this year, largely unchanged from 2013, the report says. As a result, East Asia remains the fastest growing region in the world, despite a slowdown from the average growth rate of 8.0 percent from 2009 to 2013. In China, growth will ease slightly, to 7.6 percent this year from 7.7 percent in 2013. Excluding China, the developing countries in the region will grow by 5.0 percent, slightly down from 5.2 percent last year.
This report focuses on special economic zones (SEZs) which are widely used across most developing and many developed economies. It explores the place of SEZs in today's global investment landscape and provides guidance for policymakers on how to make SEZs work for sustainable development. It presents international investment trends and prospects at global, regional and national levels, as well as the evolution of international production and global value chains. It analyses the latest developments in new policy measures for investment promotion, facilitation and regulation around the world.
