A Negotiator's Guide to Regional Trade Agreements : Considerations from an East Asian Perspective
This report maps out the evolving architecture of regional trade agreements concluded by the major trading countries and the countries of East Asia. The report first looks at a group of systemic issues - preferential rules of origin, dispute settle...
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| Format: | Other Poverty Study |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Washington, DC
2012
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| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/2008/02/9066252/negotiators-guide-regional-trade-agreements-considerations-east-asian-perspective-policy-research-report http://hdl.handle.net/10986/8034 |
| Summary: | This report maps out the evolving
architecture of regional trade agreements concluded by the
major trading countries and the countries of East Asia. The
report first looks at a group of systemic issues -
preferential rules of origin, dispute settlement and trade
remedies - and subsequently turns to substantial provisions
on market access, intellectual property rights, and
competition policy. It also briefly examines the nascent
stage of environment and labor clauses. As most favored
nations (MFN) tariffs continue to fall, tariff reductions
are starting to play a less important role in negotiations
with the focus increasingly shifting to regulatory issues.
Another notable feature of regional trade agreements (RTAs)
negotiated today is that their geographical reach has begun
to extend far beyond the traditional close proximity of
AFTA, EU, or NAFTA - often making the term "RTA" a
misnomer. The goal of this report is to establish patterns
and directions across a range of issues covered in RTAs
today which are relevant for East Asian policy makers. The
report hence looks at pertinent systemic and substantial
provisions currently included in RTAs: the first half
includes chapters on rules of origin, dispute settlement,
and trade remedies (all of these are systemic and pin down
the credibility of the concessions made: the extent of
enforcement, requirements for qualification, and the ease by
which a party may opt out); the second half of this report
investigates market access provisions and different sets of
rules concerning regulatory issues related to intellectual
property rights, competition policy, the environment, and
labor. Individual provisions from prominent RTAs concluded
between East Asian countries and across the rest of the
world will be used throughout for illustrative purposes. |
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