Catalog

	Table of Contents
p. 64 of 81 BACK | NEXT I. Developing Asia and the World II. Economic Trends and Prospects in Developing Asia III. Preferential Trade Agreements in Asia and the Pacific Overview Trends in Trade and the Expansion of PTAs: Trends in World and Asian Trade Flows Diversity in of PTAs Origins of PTAs Institutional Characteristics of PTAs PTAs as Mechanisms for Regional Cooperation Asia and Pacific PTAs and the World Trade Organization Income Characteristics of PTAs Overlapping Memberships in PTAs and Multilateral Trading Arrangements The Economic and Broader Effects of PTAS: Theoretical Arguments Effects of PTAs on Trade in Asia and the Pacific: Some Evidence Conclusions References

Asian Development Outlook 2002 : III. Preferential Trade Agreements in Asia and the Pacific : Diversity in of PTAs

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Asia and Pacific PTAs and the World Trade Organization

The Asia and Pacific region’s involvement in PTAs does not seem to have affected countries’ levels of participation in the larger multilateral trading system. WTO obligations have taken precedence over prospective PTAs in the region, and efforts to liberalize trade via WTO appear to have been more successful than the region’s PTAs. For example, in Central Asia, policymakers appear to be looking outward rather than inward in their approach to regional integration efforts, and efforts to form Central Asian PTAs have generally given precedence to WTO participation. Kazakhstan abided by a WTO commitment for external tariffs rather than simply joining the proposed customs union of Belarus, Kazakhstan, Russian Federation, and Tajikistan. The Kyrgyz Republic joined WTO in 1998, and Georgia in 2000. Among DMCs in Central Asia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan are negotiating for WTO accession.

Similarly, all SAPTA members are full WTO members except for Bhutan and Nepal, currently observers negotiating for accession. The original ASEAN members as well as Myanmar have joined WTO, while Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Viet Nam are observers. MSG members Fiji Islands, Papua New Guinea, and Solomon Islands are members of WTO while Vanuatu is an observer.

APEC appears particularly conducive to broader efforts to achieve global free trade. In the recent past, agreements negotiated under APEC have been influential in spurring trade reform outside of the PTA. For example, commitments made at the Bogor meeting of APEC influenced the CER’s reductions of third-country tariffs on a most-favored nation (MFN) basis (Garnaut 2000). ASEAN members’ plan to expand the scope of free trade via MFN liberalization is in part linked to member countries’ efforts to meet APEC commitments. ASEAN also has a permanent budget to spend on technical assistance (used mainly to finance policymaker seminars and educational meetings) for WTO-related matters.

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