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来源类型 | The Current Column |
规范类型 | 评论 |
Factory Asia – another mega-regional trade agreement? | |
Brandi, Clara; Dominique Bruhn; Max Büge | |
发表日期 | 2014-05-19 |
出版年 | 2014 |
语种 | 英语 |
摘要 | The ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) plan to promote a free trade agreement. What does that mean for the region and for world trade? |
正文 | Bonn, 19 May 2014. This weekend saw a meeting of the trade ministers of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC), a forum of 21 countries in the Asian and Pacific area, including the USA, Japan and China. The goal of the meeting was to lend impetus to the idea of a free trade agreement. Everyone is talking about the mega transatlantic agreement TTIP, but the Asia-Pacific area also boasts initiatives that will make their mark on the global economy. With the APEC initiative the formation of a giant trading bloc is on the agenda, which would represent some 60 % of global gross domestic product.
In view of the significance of cross-border production networks, the treaty represents a key initiative for the further economic integration of the region. A comprehensive regional treaty makes more sense than the current plethora of bilateral agreements between the members. However, there is also a risk that the new agreement does not replace the existing ones, but instead supplements them. This could make trade regulations in the region even more complex. It is therefore important that the APEC members continue to push for open regionalism that does not block the path towards a multilateral approach that is beneficial to all. Why have a new agreement? World trade in the 21st century is increasingly characterised by "value chains". The integration of emerging countries in international production networks is a significant factor in their economic success over the course of the past decade. Factory Asia is a prime example of this phenomenon: in Asia, the share of foreign value added in exports stands at over 30 %. This means that many intermediate goods are imported, processed and then exported again. As the goods cross multiple national borders en route to the end customer, even minor obstacles to trade can incur significant costs when taken as a whole. The dismantling of trade barriers via a new APEC agreement could therefore lend a clear impetus to the exchange of goods in the Asia-Pacific region, further aiding the participation of the member countries in regional and global value chains. Spaghetti or lasagna? But is it possible, as the economist Hamada put it, to bake a common regional lasagna from bilateral spaghetti? This seems difficult. The fact that an APEC agreement would bring far-reaching integration with it is highly ambitious, particularly in view of the loosely-structured organisation with few legal obligations on the part of the heterogeneous member states. An APEC agreement would therefore barely be capable of replacing the existing bilateral treaties. Instead, there is a risk of adding a further layer of regulations to a region with already complex trade ties. Multilateralisation in mind |
URL | https://www.die-gdi.de/en/the-current-column/article/factory-asia-another-mega-regional-trade-agreement/ |
来源智库 | German Development Institute (Germany) |
资源类型 | 智库出版物 |
条目标识符 | http://119.78.100.153/handle/2XGU8XDN/501228 |
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714 | Brandi, Clara,Dominique Bruhn,Max Büge. Factory Asia – another mega-regional trade agreement?. 2014. |
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csm_German_Developme(2KB) | 智库出版物 | 限制开放 | CC BY-NC-SA | ![]() 浏览 | ||
German_Development_I(141KB) | 智库出版物 | 限制开放 | CC BY-NC-SA | 浏览 |
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