Workshop on "Comprehensive mapping of Free Trade Agreements in ASEAN and East Asia"
Date:
22 January 2011Category:
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The workshop on "Comprehensive mapping of Free Trade Agreements in ASEAN and East Asia" was held on 22 January 2011 at ERIA Annext Office. The summary is as follows;
1. Outline
ASEAN has already established five free trade areas with each dialogue partners in East Asia, namely ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand, ASEAN-China, ASEAN-Japan, ASEAN-Korea and ASEAN-India. These five free trade areas will be the cornerstones for East Asian regional integration if respective ASEAN+1 regional free trade areas could foster the developing global value chains and encourage free flows of goods, services, capital as well as information in this region. Since the East Asian region has achieved economic growth through formation of global value chains by multinational firms, the desirable region-wide economic integration should be an assist system which optimises the regional global production and sales networks for sustainable growth in this region.
The research project aims to provide implications for the development of global value chains in East Asian region and draw strategy for region-wide economic integration based on analysis on ASEAN+1 FTAs.
2. Progress
The content and methodology of the project was presented and reviewed at the workshop, with the foundational structure and methods of the component papers now agreed upon. Methodology of the case studies was discussed, and next steps for the projects were formulated.
3. Outcomes
- Appropriate case study topics were approved and their scopes finalised
- An online space has been created to enable collaborative research - invited participants now receive regular updates on project discussion and the latest contributions
- Case study methodologies will be finessed according to workshop discussions and implemented, with results disseminated via the online space
- Draft papers will be prepared on all topics, ready for review and discussion at a second workshop to be held in Singapore on 16th and 17th of April