Growing Together: Economic Integration for an Inclusive and - escap

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CHAPTER TWO 51 Towards a broader integrated market BOX II.6. Central Asia Regional Economic Cooperation (CAREC) Transport and Trade Facilitation Strategy The Central Asian has made some progress in developing transport infrastructure, customs modernization and trade facilitation. To expand on this, they are working towards further improving transport infrastructure and to reduce the cost of trade. Recognizing the synergy between transport and trade, CAREC has developed a transport and trade facilitation strategy (TTFS) for the period 2008- 2017. This ten-year action plan aims to improve the subregion’s competitiveness by taking an integrated approach, which entails combining transport investments with trade facilitation initiatives and enhancing the three pillars of the strategyinfrastructure, management and technology. Key elements of the strategy are coordinated improvements of transport infrastructure and trade facilitation, including harmonized cross border regulations, procedures, and standards along priority transport corridors. These improvements will result in significant and measurable reductions in transport costs and time for local, cross-border, and transit traffic. It will also, as a result, lead to an increase in trade along the corridors. The goals of the CAREC trade facilitation component are to: i. reduce transaction costs and time significantly by improving administrative efficiency and simplifying, standardizing, and harmonizing trade procedures; ii. encourage the free movement of people and goods; iii. enhance the transparency of laws, regulations, procedures, and forms, and share information on these and other trade issues. The trade facilitation component comprises three elements aimed at reducing trade costs: promoting concerted customs reform and modernization; using an integrated trade facilitation approach through interagency cooperation and public–private partnerships; and developing efficient regional logistics. region: 1. An Asia-Pacific Economic Area, 2. Building on ASEAN+ approach, and 3. A new Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA II). An Asia-Pacific Economic Area (APEA): The first option is to create an APEA as a framework to connect existing subregional groupings to exchange trade preferences between members, similar to the European Economic Space Agreement that combines the Single Market of the European Union with members of the European Free Trade Association. The major subregional groupings that could be covered in APEA are ECOTA, AFTA, SAFTA, and the proposed Pacific Agreement on Closer Relations-Plus, which encompasses the Pacific Islands Free Trade Agreement (PICTA) plus Australia and New Zealand. Overall these four trade agreements include 43 of the 51 Asia- Pacific economies. 59 A modelling exercise conducted by ESCAP suggests that member countries would gain substantially if the four groupings were joined in APEA (figure II.11). The potential welfare impacts of the proposals are analysed using simulations based on data
from the Global Trade Analysis project (see annex for details). For assessing the potential welfare impacts from the APEA proposal, two scenarios are considered: “Scenario A”, which covers full trade liberalization within each bloc; and ”Scenario B” which adds full trade liberalization between each bloc. In both cases, the simulations consider the long-run effects of a full removal of tariffs on trade in goods and the implementation of trade facilitation measures. The two scenarios are schematically represented in figure II.11. The results are shown in figure II.12. They suggest that full trade liberalization under each of the four agreements would be beneficial but that the gains would be significantly greater under the scenario of full trade liberalization within and between the blocs: more than tripled for SAFTA, more than doubled for PACER-Plus, more than 50 per cent for AFTA and 36 per cent for ECOTA. While these results are encouraging, implementation of this approach may, FIGURE TITLE II.11. Scenarios A and B for trade liberalization in AFTA, SAFTA, ECOTA and PACER-Plus Source: ESCAP. however, be complicated by the fact that the four subregional groupings are at different stages of their evolution with the most advanced of them, AFTA, targeting to evolve into the ASEAN Economic Community by 2015 and PACER-Plus still under negotiation. Furthermore, a major limitation of this approach is that some of the region’s largest markets, such as China, Japan and Republic of Korea, would remain excluded, which reduces the potential gains of this integration initiative significantly. In any event, there is a tremendous potential of mutual learning across the subregional groupings of the region and sharing their best practices. Hence, a consultative committee of subregional groupings should be constituted to facilitate that mutual learning. Building on ASEAN+ approach: The ASEAN dialogue process has contributed towards a discussion of broader regional arrangements. Two proposals are being discussed in the ASEAN framework include an East Asia Free Trade Area (EAFTA) among ASEAN+3 52
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ii Photo by Warren Field
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iv Growing Together articulates a n
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vi The following experts prepared t
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viii CONTENTS (continued) Page Chap
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x FIGURES I.1. Real rates of growth
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xii TABLES I.1. Transitions from mi
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xiv ABBREVIATIONS (continued) CEPA
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xvi ABBREVIATIONS (continued) RCM R
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xviii The term “Pacific” in thi
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xx opportunities for all social gro
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xxii Many of the labour flows withi
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xxiv development gaps. Land routes
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xxvi development agencies and priva
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xxviii weighted mean Gini coefficie
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CHAPTER FOUR 101 FIGURE TITLE Enhan
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CHAPTER FOUR 103 Enhancing regional
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CHAPTER FOUR 107 TABLE TITLE Enhanc
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CHAPTER FIVE 111 UN Photo - Kibae P
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CHAPTER FIVE 113 Economic cooperati
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CHAPTER FIVE 125 FIGURE TITLE Econo
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CHAPTER FIVE 131 FIGURE TITLE Econo
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CHAPTER SIX 135 Towards an inclusiv
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CHAPTER SIX 137 Towards an inclusiv
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139 Annex Technical notes Photo by
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141 Annex Technical notes ii. Expor
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143 Annex Technical notes of the ag
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References 145 Photo by Warren Fiel
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References 147 __________ (2009). E
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References 149 Brenner, Cath (2009)
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References 151 __________ (2010b).
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References 153 Hertel, T., ed. (199
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References 155 __________ (2005). P
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References 157 Quah, Danny (2010).
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References 159 Thailand, National E
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References 161 United Nations, Econ
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