Free trade agreements

In June 2016, the European Union launched its new ‘Global Strategy for Foreign and Security Policy’. In less unusual times, it would have been received as merely the latest iteration of the main tenets and ambitions of EU external action, this time with an enhanced dose of pragmatism to respond to a more challenging international environment. However, with the contours of ‘Brexit’ becoming clearer and the start of the Trump Presidency in the United States, the EU’s Global Strategy has acquired a whole new level of significance. This paper argues that while meant to express a largely uncontroversial consensus, it now needs to be recontextualized as a distinctive vision in the face of trends of anti-globalism and Euroscepticism. This concerns in particular its emphasis on rules-based global governance. Challenged by both President Trump ‘America First’ policy and the British government’s course for a ‘hard Brexit’, the Global Strategy represents a blueprint and rallying point for a continued pursuit of a liberal world order based on the rule of law.

As doctors, epidemiologists, economists, lawyers, public health experts and blood donors, we list our concerns over the impact on the supply and safety of Australia's blood products of establishing a tender process for plasma fractionation. In particular we note that the emphasis on ...

El presente trabajo analiza las relaciones comerciales, en el marco de las negociaciones
para la firma del Tratado de Libre Comercio (TLC), entre Colombia y Canadá, considerando
el retraso en la implementación del TLC con Estados Unidos. Se pretende
mostrar la importancia del incremento de las relaciones económicas entre Colombia y
Canadá y su potencial para mejorar el bienestar económico. A lo largo del documento
se estudia la forma en que Colombia se inserta en los mercados internacionales, y se
encuentra que el TLC entre ambos países constituye un mecanismo útil para dinamizar
su inserción en los mercados internacionales. Colombia sostiene una base exportadora
todavía muy dependiente de las exportaciones tradicionales, la cual coexiste con una
plataforma exportadora de bienes industriales escasamente desarrollada y poco diversificada
en destinos. Para convertir el comercio en una importante fuerza dinamizadora
del desarrollo económico del país se deben buscar medios que permitan modernizar
la economía y convertir a Colombia en un país más competitivo. El TLC con Canadá
es una buena herramienta para mantener el buen comportamiento que ha mostrado
nuestro comercio internacional en los últimos años, y demostrar las intenciones de
Colombia de participar en el proceso de globalización en forma activa.

The scale of the challenge posed by the recent universal adoption of the 2030 Agenda and Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in relation to the achievement of economic, social and environmental objectives is formidable. In order to achieve the trade-related targets included in the 2030 Agenda and SDGs, understanding the trade policy levers with the most potential to advance them remains critical for policy makers. This includes at the bilateral as well as regional level. In this paper, the inclusion of criteria related to sustainable development within free trade agreements (FTAs) is critically reviewed. Through this analysis, the demand for greater coherence amongst levels of trade policy becomes obvious in order to more effectively promote the 2030 Agenda. Finally, impact assessments and review mechanisms will also need to be bolstered.

Commonwealth International Trade Working Paper 2017/01

© The Commonwealth, London
FULL TEXT: http://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/commonwealth/trade/international-trade-working-paper_24133175

The decision made by a slight majority of voters in the UK to leave the EU, based on a non-binding referendum, sent initial shockwaves across the globe. The separation of the UK from the EU is still a process in the making, as there is no certainty about the negotiation approach the UK or the EU will adopt on the terms of the so called Brexit. This paper seeks to outline the major aspects of market access for the international trade of goods between the UK and the EU and the impact and opportunities for Australia, noting the comparatively greater importance of the EU 27 to Australia. The paper concludes that the economic interdependence between the UK and the EU warrants a win-win solution, despite the many as yet unknown challenges that lie ahead.

Global supply chain integration is not only a rapidly growing feature of international trade, it is responsible for fundamentally changing trade policy at international and domestic levels. Given that final goods are produced with both domestic and foreign suppliers, Ka Zeng and Xiaojun Li argue that global supply chain integration pits firms and industries that are more heavily dependent on foreign supply chains against those that are less dependent on intermediate goods for domestic production. Hence, businesses whose supply chain would be disrupted as a result of increased trade barriers should lobby for preferential trade liberalization to maintain access to those foreign markets. Moreover, businesses whose products are used in the production of goods in foreign countries should also support preferential trade liberalization to compete with suppliers from other parts of the world.
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Fragmenting Globalization uses multiple methods, including time series, cross-sectional analysis of the pattern of Preferential Trade Alliance formation by existing World Trade Organization members, a firm-level survey, and case studies of the pattern of corporate support for regional trade liberalization in both China and the United States. Zeng and Li show that the growing fragmentation of global production, trade, and investment is altering trade policy away from the traditional divide between export-oriented and import-competing industries.

The paper aims to overview the similarities and differences between the People’s Republic of China, the European Union (EU) and the Republic of Serbia (RS) regarding their membership in the international environmental agreements. At the beginning of the paper, the authors point out to the growing importance of international agreements in the field of environmental protection, as instruments of contemporary politics and environmental law. The focus is on global environmental issues and on international agreements in this area (climate change and ozone layer protection, water resources management, soil protection, biodiversity protection, hazardous chemicals and hazardous waste management, etc.). In the central part of the paper, the authors address the status of China, the EU and the Republic of Serbia in the most important international multilateral environmental agreements. The bases of the analysis are international multilateral agreements with the global character. The length of time required to become a party to certain international agreements of a global character is examined. The general framework of the discussion is determined; on the one hand, by the estimates that China is a country with serious environmental problems and, on the other hand, by the fact that the EU is one of the leaders in global environmental policy. The position of the RS, as a country candidate for the EU membership, is largely determined by the obligations regarding the harmonization of national regulations with the EU regulations, including ratification of a relevant international agreement in the field of environment. In conclusion, it is noted that there are no significant differences between China and the EU in terms of the length of time needed to become a party to the most important global international environmental agreements, but there are differences in terms of the several protocols and the speed of acceptance of amendments to several international agreements. Due to various circumstances, there are some differences in terms of the RS membership in international environmental treaties.

The Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) are not only progressing in the deepening of economic integration among themselves, but are also active in pursuing free trade agreements (FTAs) with their strategic economic partners (SEPs). It is generally expected that the implementation of all existing ASEAN-led FTAs will provides benefits to all enterprises in individual ASEAN member states (AMS) in the forms of greater export opportunities and greater availability of raw materials, intermediate inputs and capital goods with competitive prices and better quality. However, there are concerns over the extent to which MSMEs in individual AMS have benefited from these commercial pacts. Although literature on this issue is limited, available evidence suggests that MSMEs are by far the least active economic actors in the region to make use of such trade agreements. Aside from identifying key challenges and opportunities confronted by ASEAN-based MSMEs in taking advantage of ASEAN-led FTAs, this article also provides practical and policy recommendations that could allow the greater use of these FTAs by these enterprises.

The article attempts a comprehensive review of the human security concept in order to question its utility for both research and policy-making. It notes the term’s interdisciplinary and extensively normative content that have facilitated its evolution into a successful security discourse. On the other hand, human security’s wide appeal has as a side-effect an extended conceptual polysemy inhibiting the cumulation of knowledge and the development of a relevant theory. Absence of conceptual clarity has also complicated its policy implementation. The article attempts to break the deadlock and move the debate forward by using the work of John Gerring and Paul A. Barresi on concept formation as an organizing device.

The most controversial and the most recently discussed matter between the country’s professionals and the government of Sri Lanka is the ETCA agreement, which will be signed with INDIA. As per the government sources the framework of this agreement will be signed in the December, 2016. Amidst the situation that a proper draft has not been issued to the public, many do concern about the conditions and the sentences which may include in the agreement.

It is often argued that Africa is the only continent that does not need anything i.e. many resources often traded in global markets (like agricultural products/ commodities, and mineral resources) originate from Africa. However, owing to insufficient capacity to beneficiate these resources, they tend to be classified as raw materials, and countries are forced to export them. Africa is infamous for exporting raw materials and importing manufactured (value-added) products. The low rate of intra-African trade is an indication that African countries do not consume what they produce. The AfCFTA Agreement aims to address this by encouraging both specialization and higher value-added exports. It is more reasonable to concentrate on industrializing before initiating the African free trade area. Thus, the focus in the petroleum industry ought to be on constructing refineries across the continent to refine crude oil and facilitate intra-African trade for overall economic growth and development, to mitigate the effects of the resource curse.

Paper Presentation at the Conference Transnational Labour Law in an Era of Rising Nationalism: A New Role of Public Institutions for Sustainable Market Practices? (Max Planck Institute for Comparative Public Law and International Law, University of Bristol and University of Oslo/SMART June 2018)

In the CAFTA-DR complaint against Guatemala, the Panel did find that Guatemala had neglected the enforcement of its labour laws, but not that it had breached its obligations under the free trade agreement. It is however conceivable that the Panel might have drawn a different conclusion if the US had mentioned widespread violence perpetrated against trade unionists in Guatemala in its complaint.

Preferential trade agreements (PTAs) promise exclusive access for their members at the expense of excluded parties. But what does this exclusivity mean for firms if production networks are internationally organized? This paper analyzes the effect of PTA exclusion on firms embedded in the global supply chains, focusing on the case of China's exclusion from the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). Drawing on a survey of a sample of Chinese firm managers during the TPP negotiations, we find that firms anticipated the exclusion and made adjustments accordingly, which led to a general sense of optimism toward the agreement. When presented with the prospect of expanded membership, however, firms are divided depending on how their own positions in the global supply chain complement or compete with the new member. These findings, validated with interviews in the field, suggest that PTA exclusion will have effects even before implementation, but that the effects will not equate to an unalloyed loss for the affected firms.

The vast majority of the books and articles that have been written over the past few centuries about trade policy in general and protectionism in particular have been written from a utilitarian perspective. Indeed, it would only be a slight overstatement to say that the only works written about protectionism have been written from a utilitarian perspective. The reason for this fact is that most analyses on protectionism are written either by economists or by people who adopt the ideas of economists to support their positions. And economists tend to be utilitarians. Those who have political agendas will tend to incorporate only those sources that support their own view and ignore or downplay opposing views, but even biased commentators use utilitarian arguments to support their positions. This paper takes a distinctly different approach. Rather than starting from a utilitarian premise, it begins from the premise that conduct that violates human rights is improper, then examines whether protectionism violates human rights. Part II presents an overview of the utilitarian approach to the examination of protectionism. Part III points out the deficiencies in the utilitarian approach and offers an alternative approach based on property, contract and association rights. The author concludes that the only trade policy that does not violate human rights is a policy of total, immediate and unilateral free trade. An extensive bibliography with links to more than 100 trade articles is also included.

This paper examines the question of whether it is ethical for company officials to use the force of government to reduce or eliminate foreign competition, using the antidumping laws as a case study. This paper begins with a brief examination of the U.S. antidumping laws, then examines several ethical questions related to the antidumping laws. The main question to be addressed is whether, and under what circumstances, it is ethical for domestic producers to ask government to launch an antidumping investigation against a foreign competitor. Related questions to be examined include (1) Whether it is ethical to ask the government to launch an antidumping investigation even when the domestic company making the request knows that dumping has not occurred; (2) Whether it is ethical to ask for an antidumping investigation in cases where dumping (according to the definition of dumping) has occurred, where the effect is to help domestic producers at the expense of the general public. This paper will examine these questions by applying both utilitarian and non-utilitarian approaches. A bibliography with links to more than 100 articles on trade is also included. The full paper may be downloaded here. http://ssrn.com/abstract=2861273 BIO Robert W. McGee is an accounting professor and best-selling novelist who has published 58 nonfiction books and more than 700 scholarly articles. He is an attorney and CPA who has lectured or worked in more than 30 countries, and has earned 13 doctorates from universities in the United States and four European countries. The Social Science Research Network has ranked him as high as #2 in the world All-Time among accounting professors and #30 in the world All-Time among all social scientists. Various studies have ranked him #1 in the world for both business ethics and accounting ethics scholarship. He has won 19 gold medals in

This book deepens the study of the law of treaties by offering specific solutions to current legal problems. It provides a high-level theoretical and practical approach, touching upon all major current issues of the law of treaties. It is noteworthy that each subject-matter discussed in this work was thoroughly analyzed and supported by a rigorous methodology, including the use of the most accurate terminology and a well-reasoned explanation of each of the issues addressed in accordance with the most authoritative legal scholarly writings. This work is also a helpful reference for governmental and diplomatic officials, legal practitioners and the legal academia at large in trying to understand how international acts are negotiated and adopted, what the rules are for the formulation of reservations and introduction of amendments to conventional texts, how a State is definitely deemed to be bound by an international act or treaty, which the effects are of a treaty that came into force and how treaties should be applied at the international level, etc.

Making policies work It is high time for the remaining member states of the European Union (EU,) who have not yet done so, to ratify the Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). The first ones have already been concluded with some African, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) countries in 2007. This is the case, for instance, for the interim EPAs with respectively Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana, which are considered in this paper. These free trade agreements have generated controversial discussions for years and may not be perfect. But they have not only maintained, but also secured and improved the preferential access of these countries to the EU, vital for some of their major exports. The EPAs have not led to the feared negative impacts that some had predicted. Their potential benefits, however, are highly dependent on the way they are used and the reform dynamics and support measures that accompany their effective implementation. The EU, with the EPAs and beyond, intends to stimulate local and regional economic transformation pathways by stimulating domestic production and promoting value addition for local, regional, and international value chains, in particular with the EU. In doing so, increasing attention is given to sustainability, inclusive and gender dimensions, as is the case for sustainable forestry and cocoa initiatives in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire and Ghana. Development assistance, in the form of not only traditional aid, such as technical assistance, but also blended finance and guarantees, as well as policy dialogues, multi-stakeholder engagement and improvement of the investment climate, are key pillars of the EU support. Such a comprehensive approach is critical, not only for the implementation of the EPAs, but especially to accompany African own reform and transformation processes. This includes the African Continental Free Trade Area and other regional integration dynamics, as well as the response to the COVID-19 crisis, with the aim to build back better, greener and in a more sustainable, inclusive and gender-sensitive way.

ECDPM Discussion Paper No.304, September 2021

This study probes the effects of the currency swap agreement between the Nigerian government through the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Chinese government through the People's Bank of China (PBC). The objectives of this paper are to define the concepts of currency swap, review relevant literature, and analyze its policy implication on the Nigerian economy. The Bilateral Currency Swap Agreement (BLCSA) between the CBN and the PBC, aims to achieve foreign exchange stability and hedge the naira from volatility both in the short and long run of each business cycle. The literature reviewed suggests the BLCSA would eliminate the unnecessary rigors involved in trade between Nigeria and China businesses and reduce the demand of the United States (US) dollar. Although a step in the right direction, this solution is a temporary fix when a permanent solution is needed. The study's recommendations will elicit the necessary responses from the CBN, PBC, stakeholders, China, and Nigeria government on the benefits of the BLCSA *

The EU's weak promotional policy towards sustainability in its free trade arguments is up for revision. Labour and environmental standards need to be tightened. They were given a boost on balance by a remarkable panel ruling of January 2021 in the longstanding EU-Korea labour dispute. Compliance ought to be subject to regular dispute settlement between governments. Sanctions must be added to the EU's toolbox, going beyond trade retaliation. Private stakeholders should become more involved in monitoring and enforcement, both at the international and at the domestic level. All this will put an extra responsibility on the EU and its Member States to protect their labour force and the environment as well.

This is the Draft Table of Contents for my forthcoming book (Lexington--hopefully December 2016): Eco-Nihilism: The Philosophical Geopolitics of the Climate Change Apocalypse.

I post it here to give my readers--for whom I'm tremendously grateful--a preview of the book's themes and argument.

Despite the emergence of a rich literature on the rise of China in Latin America (LAC) since 2000, we are still grappling with this phenomenon. In this article we seek to theorize this expanding South–South relationship from two vantage points. First, from the perspective of China, we argue that, by necessity, the PRC has had to internationalize its development strategy in order to compensate for its serious natural resource deficit, feed the world’s largest domestic population, and fuel the soon-to-be largest economy in the world. LAC has been just one slice of China’s ‘go out’ strategy. Our second perspective probes the effect of China’s entry into the region. Through the lens of development economics, we identify three separate political economy scenarios that have been accentuated within those countries that have the strongest economic ties with China. We rely on measures of institutional performance and macro-economic trends to illustrate the variable effects of China on LAC.

Este ensayo aborda la evolución de la geopolítica en Bolivia desde su independencia y la política exterior que ejerce desde la visión de las tesis integracionistas de los años 40, como la del ex canciller Ostria Gutiérrez, haciendo énfasis en el acuerdo con el MERCOSUR (Mercado Común del Sur), ya que hoy en día Bolivia está en proceso de convertirse en miembro pleno de este proceso de integración.
Asimismo, analiza las propuestas de integración en la región y como Bolivia se relaciona con sus países vecinos, en especial desde el año 2006, con el nuevo gobierno del Presidente Evo Morales, cuando se suscriben acuerdos y tratados como el ALBA (Alianza Bolivariana para los pueblos de nuestra América) y el TCP (Tratado de Comercio de los Pueblos).
Empero, la suscripción de estos tratados, promulgados como nueva alternativa a los tratados comerciales clásicos y basados en una concepción de cooperación más social y solidaria que comercial, se confrontan con la realidad, particularmente frente a la nueva ola de tratados internacionales como el TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership), TISA (Trade In Services Agreement), TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investments Partnership) y sin ir lejos con la AP (Alianza del Pacifico), cuya manifestación y expansión han puesto el tema en debate, tanto en Bolivia como en la región, acerca de que clases de tratados comerciales se deben negociar.
Palabras clave:
Bolivia – Acuerdos Comerciales – Relaciones Internacionales – Geopolítica – Integración Regional

This article assesses the developmental record of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) in Mexico fifteen years after its implementation. After analyzing the evolution of trade and investment flows and their impact on employment and wage levels in the manufacturing and agricultural sectors, the author highlights the success and limits of the NAFTA integration model. He concludes that while NAFTA should not be seen as a solution to all of Mexico’s socio-economic problems, NAFTA nonetheless suffers from a "deficient [social] institutionality" that can be addressed through both domestic and supranational reforms. At the domestic level, the Mexican government should rethink its export-led growth strategy and prioritize tax reforms and domestic investments in education and infrastructure. At the supranational level, the NAFTA model should be upgraded to address its social lacunae, especially in the policy spheres of investment, immigration, agriculture, and resource transfers.

FAQs about rules of origin and cumulation of origin
A booklet in which you can find answers to the questions you may have about preferential rules of origin and the Pan-Euro-Mediterranean cumulation system, the world's largest free trade area which comprises the European Union, EFTA States, Turkey, Mediterranean countries (from Lebanon to Morocco) and has included the Balkan countries as of 2013.

Tercihli menşe kuralları ve Türkiye, Avrupa Birliği, EFTA Devletleri ile beraber Akdeniz ülkelerinin (Fas'tan Lübnan'a uzanan hat) ve 2013'ten itibaren Balkan ülkelerinin de dahil edildiği - halen dünyanın en büyük serbest ticaret alanı - durumundaki Pan-Avrupa-Akdeniz menşe kümülasyonu sistemi hakkında aklınıza takılabilecek suallere cevap bulabileceğiniz bir kitapçık.

ნაშრომი განიხილავს საქართველოს ეკონომიკური გარდაქმნების ისტორიას სსრკ-ს
დაცემის შემდგომ 1991 წელს დამოუკიდებლობის აღდგენის, დემოკრატიული
ახელმწიფოს დაფუძნების, გეგმიური ეკონომიკიდან ლიბერალური საბაზრო ეკონომიკისკენ გარდაქმნისა და ევროკავშირთან ახლო ინტეგრაციის მცდელობების განმავლობაში. ნაშრომი ასევე მიმოიხილავს ამ პერიოდში ეკონომიკურ განვითარებაზე მოქმედ სხვადასხვა პოლიტიკურ თუ სოციალურ ფაქტორებს.

The recent proliferation of preferential trade agreements, reaching almost 400 in number, has made it increasingly important to determine their effects on trade flows.  This study advances our understanding of the effect of a particular type of trade agreement, a nonreciprocal agreement between a major economic power and less developed countries often used as a foreign policy/foreign aid tool by the major power and allowable under WTO Special and Differential Treatment.  The study tests the effect of a recently implemented nonreciprocal agreement between the U.S. and Sub-Saharan Africa, the 2000 African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), on trade.  A traditional gravity model is employed to test whether AGOA opens market access in the U.S. for eligible countries’ exports. The results of this study suggest that AGOA membership and eligibility for AGOA textile benefits have no significant effect on trade, an explicit goal of this agreement. Uncertainty about the expiration of preferences, eroding preferential margins, and the inability of African producers to adequately exploit preferences are explanations for these results.

This thesis aims to review and assess policies and laws that prohibit forced labor of migrant workers in the private economy in the Republic of Kazakhstan (Kazakhstan), the Russian Federation (Russia), and the United States of America (the US).
The thesis examines the problem of forced labor of migrant workers in the selected jurisdictions through the prism of various interrelated aspects. First, the study compares the States’ international commitments and considers how they implement them into national legislation. It also evaluates the role of regional human rights mechanisms that influence State willingness to protect migrant workers from exploitation. Second, the research compares labor migration policies and considers that the lack of human rights approach in labor migration policies increases migrant workers’ vulnerability to forced labor.  Finally, the study examines criminal legislation that prosecutes forced labor and assesses its practical implication.
Based on the analysis, the study also formulates recommendations for the States considered from a human rights perspective.

ABSTRACT:
The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a rule based multilateral trading organization which facilitates trade between nations. Its main function is to act as a forum for international cooperation on trade related policies and creation of codes of conduct for member governments.  At its center are the WTO agreements, negotiated and signed by the bulk of the world’s trading nations and ratified in their parliaments. The WTO provides a forum for negotiating agreements aimed at reducing obstacles to international trade and ensuring a level playing field for all, thus supposedly contributing to economic growth and development. For a structure which provides for countries to conduct negotiations and formalize trade agreements; it does not specify or define outcomes. It seeks to globalize many countries and help them sharpen their competitive edge and seek benefit from advanced technologies from other nations. It has not only affected India’s international trade but also its internal economy. This paper looks into this aspect and brings to light the many problems that businesses in India could face. When we discuss Trade Policy and its relation with Free Trade Agreements, makes us think will these policies affect businesses per se. How important are Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises for the Indian economy, what if they come under threat, will it threaten other businesses? Should Free Trade Agreements matter to Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises, will it make an impact? How will Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises cope with this complete liberalization of trade, will they be able to survive the onslaught or will they be wiped out. Will it be an opportunity or a threat to businesses in India as we see them today? These questions are too grave to be left unanswered, if left unquestioned these factors might make the survival of these businesses difficult. This paper brings to light the answers to these questions and explains their intricacies and moreover it also highlights certain basic problems that the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises face. It also looks into the chapters and provisions of Free Trade Agreements and gives us a better perspective on the situation as a whole.

Key Words:World Trade Organization; Free Trade Agreement; Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises; Liberalization

Resultados de un proceso de investigación sobre el movimiento social que se desarrolla alrededor del Referéndum, convocado en Costa Rica el 7 de octubre del 2007, para decidir sobre la participación de este país en el Tratado de Libre Comercio entre Estados Unidos, Centroamérica y República Dominicana (TLC).
El análisis busca comprender cómo se construyen, apropian, configuran y reconfiguran los procesos de conocimiento en las organizaciones y movimientos sociales.

Free trade can be defined as  “trading across national boundaries unimpeded by tariff duties, quotas, regulations or other barriers to the movement of goods and services”. Free trade was initiated to promote the ease of exchange of goods and services worldwide.  Free trade is exemplified by the European Union (EU), North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the World Trade Organisation (WTO). The notion of free trade was first proposed by Adam Smith in his 1776 book ‘The Wealth of Nations’. In 1947, The General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) reduced the barriers to trade, succeeding this, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) initiated free trade. There is a lot of controversy as to whether free trade is a help or hindrance to developing countries.  In my essay, I will discuss the arguments made for and against free trade. Concluding with my own personal opinion on the extent of which free trade can provide a route for poorer countries to achieve economic development.

Since the start of the Association of South East Asian Nation (ASEAN) Plus Three (APT) initiative in 1997,
East Asian regionalism seems to have progressed and an East Asian Community is just around the corner.
In spite of all the pessimism brought about by the 1997 Asian financial crisis, East Asian political
frameworks are in place, East Asian regional production networks are the most integrated in the world,
and regional financial initiatives have taken off.
From a financial integration, financial regulation, and education perspective, however, East Asian
regionalism has either stagnated or even regressed. Furthermore, US re-engagement in the region and
the increased tension over the South China seas tend to challenge further developments in East Asian
regionalization outside of the economic space. This paper is a mini-scoping study to present the realities
that East Asian regionalism is still lap-sided: economic regionalism is highly developed, while other key
components (regional financial and financial regulation integration, education collaboration, and a
regional political framework) are developing at a slower rate, stagnating, and/or regressing. It aims to
present the reality of East Asian regionalism, provoke awareness of false perspectives, and present a
recommendation towards a balanced and more sustainable East Asian regionalism and the formation of
a real East Asian community.

The Transpacific Partnership (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) have been described as " next generation " agreements owing to their very broad geographic scope and the many policy spheres upon which they encroach. Indeed, not only do " behind-the-border issues " venture into new areas ranging from digital trade to supply chains and state-owned enterprises, but the economic weight and geographic scale of these potential free trade zones also mean that they are likely to create precedents for the global harmonization of trade rules. The fact that domestic laws concerning food safety or environmental standards – to name just two prominent examples – that were once the product of democratic processes are currently being renegotiated at the international level raises questions on the democratic governance of cross-regional free trade agreements. This is why many civil society groups (consumer associations, environmental organizations, labor unions etc.) have raised their voices to demand greater inclusiveness and transparency in trade negotiations, thereby echoing earlier debates surrounding previous forms of regionalism in Europe (e.g. the Maastricht Treaty) or North America (CUSFTA, NAFTA). In response to criticism and political mobilization, governments have attempted to develop a number of policy tools to open the trade policy process to civil society actors. 1 The impact of these measures on the ends and means of trade policy have, however, rarely come under academic scrutiny. This article aims to assess governmental initiatives to include new trade policy stakeholders in " next-generation " FTA negotiations with the aim of developing a systematic approach to evaluate the inclusiveness and accountability of trade policy making. To do so, it proceeds in three parts. The first part reviews the literature on free trade agreements to shed light on the paucity of studies concerned with the democratic governance of cross-regionalism. The second part attempts to remedy this problem through a theoretical discussion of civil society inclusion and participatory democracy in the trade policy sphere. The third part uses this methodological toolbox to analyze the respective experiences of the United States and the European Union within the context of TTIP and TPP. My ambition is less to provide an exhaustive analysis of these two complex sets of institutions and policies than to define a research agenda to assess the challenges and stakes of bringing new trade stakeholders in policymaking.