Are Regional Trade Agreements in Asia Stumbling or Building Blocks? Implications for the Mekong-3 Countries

March 1, 2007

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Format: Chicago

Patrizia Tumbarello. Are Regional Trade Agreements in Asia Stumbling or Building Blocks? Implications for the Mekong-3 Countries, (USA: International Monetary Fund, 2007) accessed December 3, 2024

Disclaimer: This Working Paper should not be reported as representing the views of the IMF.The views expressed in this Working Paper are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent those of the IMF or IMF policy. Working Papers describe research in progress by the author(s) and are published to elicit comments and to further debate

Summary

Is the recent proliferation of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in Asia a healthy development, or runs the risk of turning into an unmanageable "noodle bowl" in the future? The goal of this paper is to shed some light on this question. The results show that membership in the Asian RTAs considered in this study have not, to date, occurred at the expense of trade with nonmembers, as most Asian countries' integration with the global economy preceded regional integration. However, looking forward, given their discriminatory nature, a proliferation of RTAs, which is not accompanied by continuing unilateral and multilateral liberalization, could run the risk of leading to costly trade diversion.

Subject: Customs unions, Imports, Trade agreements, Trade balance, Trade liberalization

Keywords: ASEAN member, Right, WP

Publication Details

Pages:

27
Volume:

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DOI:

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Issue:

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Series:

Working Paper No. 2007/053
Stock No:

WPIEA2007053
ISBN:

9781451866179
ISSN:

1018-5941

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