Gary Clyde Hufbauer

Multilateralizing Regionalism: Fitting Asia-Pacific agreements into the WTO system

It is commonplace to note the proliferation of customs unions (CUs), free trade agreements (FTAs) and kindred arrangements, often collectively called preferential trade agreements (PTAs). In fact, the number of agreements concluded between 2000 and 2007 (185) is just under half the number of agreements concluded during the twentieth century (374). These figures can be found in table 1. In addition to a chronological summary, table 1 provides a breakdown of PTAs by region. Countries in Europe (not including the Former Soviet Union) have concluded the most agreements (232) to date. Countries in the Americas have concluded the second most agreements (166). If we consider the Asia-Pacific region (Americas, East and South Asia, and Oceania) as a unit, the total number of concluded agreements (234) matches that of Europe.

Prospects for Regional Free Trade in Asia

Frustrated with lackluster momentum in the WTO Doha Round and the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, and mindful of free trade agreement (FTA) networks centered on the United States and Europe, Asian countries have joined the FTA game. By 2005, Asian countries (excluding China) had ratified 14 bilateral and regional FTAs and had negotiated but not implemented another seven. Asian nations are also actively negotiating some 23 bilateral and regional FTAs, many with non-Asian partners, including Australia, Canada, Chile, the European Union, India, and Qatar. China has been particularly active since 2000. It has completed three bilateral FTAs—Thailand in 2003 and Hong Kong and Macao in 2004—and is initiating another 17 bilateral and regional FTAs. However, a regional Asian economic bloc led by China seems distant, even though China accounts for about 30 percent of regional GDP. As in Europe and the Western Hemisphere, many Asian countries are pursuing FTAs with countries outside the region. On present evidence, the FTA process embraced with some enthusiasm in Asia, Europe, and the Western Hemisphere more closely resembles fingers reaching idiosyncratically around the globe rather than politico-economic blocs centered respectively on Beijing, Brussels, and Washington.

The Payoff to America from Globalisation

This article summarizes the economic payoff to the United States from its postwar trade opening and estimates the potential future gains from more opening going forward. To quantify these gains, we survey different methodologies and estimates. We find that trade opening since World War II has added between

Trade Policy, Standards, and Development in Central America

800 billion to

Reaching a Global Agreement on Climate Change: What are the Obstacles?

1.4 trillion to the US economy, or about

Trade and Standards: A Look at Central America

7,000 to

Climate Policy Options and the World Trade Organization

13,000 per household. More speculative estimates of the potential additional gains from removing the rest of US trade barriers range from

Policy Liberalization and FDI Growth, 1982 to 2006

400 billion to

Economic Sanctions and U.S. Foreign Policy

1.3 trillion, or about

What Future for the WTO

4,000 to