Have Regional Trade Agreements in Developing Countries Been a Success or a Failure? Evidence from the COMESA Free Trade Agreement and MERCOSUR

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Conroy
Keyword(s):  
Developing Countries ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
Regional Trade

scholarly journals DO REGIONAL TRADE AREAS IMPROVE EXPORT COMPETITIVENESS? - A CASE OF INDONESIA

2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22
Author(s):  
Amalia Adininggar Widyasanti
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Policy Recommendations ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Intensity Index ◽  
Market Inefficiency ◽  
Export Competitiveness ◽  
Asean Countries

Indonesia has involved in quite many regional trade agreements, since more than a decade ago. Theoritically, Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) are very beneficial to the countries, as resources are more efficiently allocated due to production specialization. However, presence of asymmetric information, market inefficiency, and economic distortion in the real world have led to a deviation of FTAs benefits from its theoritical framework. This paper studies whether Indonesian export competitiveness is improving after Indonesia involves in ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and ASEAN-Cina Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). Export competitiveness are measured by some trade indicators, such as: trade intensity index, market share, export product dynamics, and RCA, for some Indonesian main export products. The indices are compared across ASEAN countries and Cina to reveal: (i) which products are gaining or losingcompetitiveness in ASEAN and Cina markets; and (ii) which countries are  becoming Indonesian main competitors in ASEAN and Cina markets. Additionally, this paper ends up with some policy recommendations that Indonesia should undertake to improve competitiveness of its products in ASEAN and Cina markets.JEL Classification: R11, F16Keywords: FTA, export competitiveness, Indonesia

scholarly journals IS THERE STILL A FUTURE TO THE REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS?

2018 ◽  
pp. 105-130
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Regional Trade Agreements ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Member States ◽  
Positive Economic ◽  
The Future

Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs), are Treaties between two or more states to liberalize mutual trade or other economic relations. Among such RTAs the European Union is the largest one and most complex, including 28 member states with developed high levels of trade, monetary and economic cooperation in 2018. Generally RTAs follow the idea that more free trade and more liberal environment for other economic cooperation activities among the integrated states create an environment enabling additional and accelerated economic growth of member states, together with some other positive structural and economic gains. After1992 the number of newly registered RTAs with GATT and later with WTO started to increase very fast in comparison to the entire period after the WW II. In May 2018 all WTO registered active RTAs reached the number of 287. The number of active RTA evidently exceeds the number of all world’s states. The number of 287 active RTAs suggests that at least some states participate in more than one form of RTA. Such fact further strongly suggests that at least before 2017 there was globally developed an intensive interest among states to join or create one or another form of the RTA. The growth of registered and active RTAs in the last 25 or so years confirms realization of the theoretically predicted positive economic impacts of the RTAs on the member states economic achievements. However Mr. Trump, as the actual President of the USA, started to question expected positive economic gains of the existing RTAs. The policy of unilateral increases of USA’simport tariffs introduced by new USA administration presents open violation of the WTO trading rules. The USA’s discriminatory trade policy has been further extended by the decided that USA has to exit from its existing RTAs. USA’s decision of dismantling of the existing RTAs creates questions about their real economic efficiency and generally about the future of such international trade agreements. The process and actions after the dismantling and renegotiating of the USA’s RTA with Mexico and Canada, known as North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA, established Jan.1, 1994) produce some insight into the weaknesses and into the potential changes of the future RTAs. In the paper we analyse expected economic gains and eventual disadvantages of the RTAs for the member states. The expected end of NAFTA and creation of a new trade agreement between USA, Mexico and Canada are analysed with the purpose to develop insights into the probable future existence and reforms of the RTAs in the global economy.

The Turkey-UK Free Trade Agreement in Terms of Economic Diplomacy

2021 ◽  
Vol 23 (Fall 2021) ◽  
pp. 193-211
Author(s):  
Kaan Yiğenoğlu
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The European Union ◽  
Economic Relations ◽  
Economic Diplomacy ◽  
The Uk

This article scrutinizes relations between economic diplomacy and free trade agreements by focusing on the Turkey-UK free trade agreements which came into force in 2021. Accordingly, the article first introduces the concept of economic diplomacy, an important issue as it has been shown that bilateral trade agreements, nowadays preferred by many countries, can be used as a tool of economic diplomacy. The article then discusses the history and development of free trade agreements signed by Turkey, including its long-running experience of economic integration with the European Union. Although Turkey began establishing free trade agreements in the 1990s, it has been concentrating on and accelerating its use since 2000. Based on economic and political reasons underlying the free economic agreements, the reasons why Turkey and the UK have reached such an agreement are summarized. Economic relations between the two countries are then analyzed and the details of the agreement are investigated in the context of the changes that it provides.

scholarly journals The ASEAN Free Trade Agreement and Vietnam’s Trade Efficiency

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (4) ◽  
pp. 192 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hai Thi Hong Nguyen ◽  
Thang Ngoc Doan
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Volume ◽  
Large Space ◽  
Trading Partners ◽  
Efficiency Performance ◽  
Stochastic Gravity

This study employs a stochastic gravity model to estimate the efficiency performance of Vietnam’s trade with its main trading partners from 1995-2015. Trade efficiency is measured as the ratio of actual trade volume to the maximum likelihood. Moreover. it analyzes the effects of both natural and man-made trade barriers on trade efficiency. The empirical results suggest that the actual trade of Vietnam appears to be much smaller than a possible efficiency level and that there is large space for further progress. Export efficiency outweighs that of import. Vietnam’s ASEAN Free Trade Agreement membership has, in general, improved the trade efficiency, whereas tariffs and domestic devaluation have impaired it. Our findings lead to the recommendation that Vietnam should join more Free Trade Agreements and break down the man-made barriers.

Developments Relating to U.S. Trade Negotiations—KORUS, NAFTA, and Trade Promotion Authority

2018 ◽  
Vol 112 (3) ◽  
pp. 510-513 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
The North ◽  
Final Agreement ◽  
Trade Promotion ◽  
Trade Deals ◽  
Trump Administration

Consistent with his approach on the campaign trail, President Trump has demonstrated a continued interest in revamping U.S. trade agreements. By the late spring of 2018, the Trump administration had negotiated modest changes to the United States-Republic of Korea Free Trade Agreement (KORUS) in favor of U.S. interests. It had yet to reach any final agreement with regard to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), despite the expiration of an initial deadline that was designed to ensure adequate time for a vote on the negotiated agreement by the present Congress. To ease the passage of future trade deals, Trump has triggered the three-year extension of a process that provides expedited congressional consideration of negotiated trade agreements.

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