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Free Trade in the Asia-Pacific
High Level Roundtable Discussion
8 September 2014
Boardroom, Keyan Building
University of International Business & Economic (UIBE)
Beijing, China
In 2010, after 3 years of internal study and debate by officials and ministers, APEC leaders committed to taking ‘concrete steps toward realization of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP)”. Furthermore, they stated that ‘An FTAAP should be pursued as a comprehensive free trade agreement by developing and building on ongoing regional undertakings, such as ASEAN+3, ASEAN+6, and the Trans-Pacific Partnership, among others.’[1]China, as the host for APEC has chosen the goal of advancing regional economic integration as one of its major themes for 2014. The purpose of this workshop is to discuss the current literature on global value chains and regional trade agreements and how these might inform the future development of an FTAAP.
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0900-0930 |
Welcoming Address and Keynote Speech Speakers:
Keynote Speech:
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0930-0945 |
Briefing: APEC Work on Regional Economic Integration
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0945-1115 |
Session 1: Global value chains in the Asia-Pacific: mapping and policy implications The framework for most thinking about the design of trade policy in the region is now the value chain setting. Following the OECD, ‘A value chain identifies the full range of activities that firms undertake to bring a product or a service from its conception to its end use by final consumers.’ [2] This session will consider how value chains are mapped in the region and the implications that this has for trade policy. Moderator
Speakers
Question and Answer
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1115-1130 |
Coffee Break |
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1130-1300 |
Session 2: Pathways to an FTAAP: What can be expected There are a number of trade negotiations under way that have been described as possible pathways to an FTAAP, including the Trans Pacific Partnership, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership, and the Pacific Alliance. This session will discuss these agreements – both their coverage and expected economic impact. Moderator
Speakers
Discussion
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1300-1400 |
Lunch |
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1400-1515 |
Session 3: The Economic Impact of an FTAAP A number of estimates have been made of the potential economic impact of an FTAAP as well the various pathways. This session will discuss those estimates and the underlying assumptions that they make. Moderator
Speakers
Question and Answer
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1530-1700 |
Session 4: Principles for an FTAAP and Recommendations for Next Steps It has been suggested that it is time to consider what the guiding principles for an FTAAP should be, several documents exist that might provide input into such a document – the TPP Honolulu Statements, the RCEP’s Guiding Principles, the PA’s Framework Agreement, as well as a variety of APEC’s own documents such as the Osaka Action Agenda. Given the discussions over the previous two sessions, this session will discuss what those principles might be. This session will define future work on the FTAAP for the PECC over the next 12-24 months. The format of this session is a moderated discussion led by Dr Charles Morrison, to help define the principles for an FTAAP, followed by a discussion of proposals for next steps in the project from Professor Christopher Findlay. Moderator
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[1]The push for an FTAAP has a long history, in recent times primarily from the APEC Business Advisory Council (ABAC) – see http://www.pecc.org/research/ftaap
[2] http://www.oecdilibrary.org/docserver/download/5k3v1trgnbr4.pdf?expires=1402297110&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=E86D48F087FAB3CDAFD774AC7EFA2201