Overview

The proposal for a regional free trade agreement is the oldest idea for promoting mutually beneficial Asia-Pacific regional cooperation. A Japanese economist Kiyoshi Kojima is usually credited for first mooting such Pacific free trade agreement concept in 1966. While that initial proposal seemed premature and unrealistic at the time, it enhanced awareness about the existing regional interdependencies and potentials for increased benefit through cooperation, eventually leading to the establishment of the Pacific Economic Cooperation Council (PECC) and subsequently to the APEC process.

In more recent times, economist C. Fred Bergsten has been at the forefront as an advocate of a Free Trade Agreement of the Asia-Pacific. His paper, prepared as part of this study, provides a most comprehensive and forceful statement in favor of an FTAAP. One of the most direct and comprehensive rebuttals to such perspective comes from a political scientist, Vinod Aggarwal. Based on an analysis of the American political economy, Dr. Aggarwal argues that selective liberalization through sectoral and bilateral trade agreements has rewarded freer trade interests, but left trade policy dominated by protectionist interests.

RELATED SPEECHES & STATEMENTS

"APEC has always been forward-thinking. APEC Leaders alluded to a vision for a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific, or FTAAP, as early as 2004 (in Chile). This was in response to suggestions from APEC’s business arm, the APEC Business Advisory Council, who foresaw benefits of such a large FTA. In 2010 (in Japan), APEC Leaders concretised the vision by outlining “pathways to FTAAP”. Already then, they envisioned the FTAAP to be a comprehensive, high quality agreement, developed and built on ongoing regional undertakings, which address “next generation” trade and investment issues. [...] we must ensure that our current agreements are of the highest quality possible. Regional architectures like the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), the Pacific Alliance, the RCEP, and the TPP are all mutually reinforcing pathways to the FTAAP. These pathways must be of high-standard to lead to a credible and meaningful FTAAP."

Opening remarks delivered by Minister for Trade and Industry of Singapore, Lim Hng Kiang (PECC Singapore conference: New Priorities of Regional Economic Integration - Mandate for APEC | Singapore | February 10-11, 2014)

"APEC announced in 2006 that it would examine the long-term prospect of an FTAAP. [...] Based on the results of this work, we have agreed that now is the time for APEC to translate FTAAP from an aspirational to a more concrete vision. To that end, we instruct APEC to take concrete steps toward realization of an FTAAP, which is a major instrument to further APEC's Regional Economic Integration (REI) agenda. Further, an FTAAP should do more than achieve liberalization in its narrow sense; it should be comprehensive, high quality and incorporate and address "next generation" trade and investment issues.

We believe 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. To this end, APEC will make an important and meaningful contribution as an incubator of an FTAAP by providing leadership and intellectual input into the process of its development, and by playing a critical role in defining, shaping and addressing the "next generation" trade and investment issues that an FTAAP should contain."

APEC Leaders' Declaration (Yokohama, Japan | November 2010)

RELATED PECC PROJECTS

FTAAP Pathways to Prosperity Virtual Dialogue | Australia | 20 May 2023

A multi-year project led by AUSPECC to advance regional thinking on inclusive growth, economic integration, stability and cooperation in the region.

The intention is to lead a fresh conversation about the value of enhanced cooperation and regional integration, in order to better develop ideas about how to proceed to those goal, and to use the concept of an FTAAP as a framework for this conversation.  

The aim is to:

• Explore how an FTAAP work program based on advancing the concept of an FTAAP can best achieve prospective opportunities and address regional challenges;
• Complement and add value to existing discussions on an FTAAP concept in APEC, including in the CTI, ABAC and among member economies;
• Provide a vision of enhanced cooperation and integration in the region, including developing concrete proposals to build momentum as APEC advances towards its 2040 Putrajaya Vision;
• Build understanding and cooperative policy making by engaging all APEC economies, business and academia.

PECC Signature Project: FTAAP Pathways to Prosperity

Project Meeting Summary: FTAAP Pathways to Prosperity Meeting | Seattle, USA | 14 August 2023

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PECC Workshop: Free Trade in the Asia-Pacific | Beijing, China | September 8, 2014

The one-day workshop on Free Trade in the Asia-Pacific was held on September 8, 2014 in Beijing, China. (For the list of speakers and program agenda, click on the link)

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)”.  They have also 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.’ 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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New Development and Future Direction of Asia-Pacific Regional Economic Integration | Beijing, China | November 14-15, 2013

CNCPEC has organized a two-day symposium on the regional economic integration to conduct a comprehensive stocktaking of the various ongoing FTAs in the Asia-Pacific region. With contributions from several other PECC member committees, the speakers at the symposium compared the various regional trade arrangements, especially the "mega-RTAs," revisited the strategies of the region's active players, and touched upon the convergence theme, going over questions on how we could achieve an FTAAP, how the Asia-Pacific as a region can contribute to the WTO, and how APEC could play a better role in promoting the convergence.

Click here to see the program agenda and to download presentations/ papers

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Regional Economic Integration Review and Outlook Seminar | Taipei, Chinese Taipei | November 13-14, 2013

The 28th Pacific Economic Community Seminar: “TPP and RCEP: Emerging Dual-Track Pathways towards FTAAP” was held on November 13-14, 2013 in Taipei. (For the list of speakers and program agenda, click on the link)

The most recent crisis had serious impacts on the world economy through the channel of trade. We believe that economic integration with freer trade would help create a healthier business environment by eliminating protectionism in many possible ways. After all, REI is able to provide the much needed recovery momentum. However, there still exist many political and economic challenges limiting the progress of REI.

Protectionism in many forms seems revived at bad times, and transaction costs hindering the development of healthy business environment increased. The regional economic integration (REI) aiming at reducing or eliminating unnecessary economic barriers has been proposed, such as the initiative of FTAAP and initiatives in progress such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Are these two tracks in competition or are they complementary? How can the potential gains from TPP and RCEP be maximized? What effect do these two tracks have on non-members as well as the participating members? These were some of the questions addressed at the seminar. International experts from Australia, Chile, China, Indonesia, Japan, Korea, New Zealand, Singapore, and Thailand shared their views and exchanged ideas with Chinese Taipei counterparts.

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RELATED PUBLICATIONS

State of the Region 2013-2014

State of the Region 2012-2013

An APEC Trade Agenda? The Political Economy of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (2007)
ISBN: 978-981-230-460-5

Contributing authors:

• Dr Charles E. Morrison, President, East West Center - "An APEC Trade Agenda"
  
  
• Dr C. Fred Bergsten, Director of the Institute for International Economics - "A Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific in the Wake of the Faltering Doha Round: Trade Policy Alternatives for APEC"
  
  
• Prof Shujiro Urata, Professor of Economics, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University - "Japan's FTA Strategy and a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific"
  
  
• Prof Sheng Bin, Professor, APEC Study Centre, Nankai University, China - "The Political Economy of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific: A China Perspective"
  
  
• Prof Vinod Aggarwal, Professor of Political Science, Haas School of Business & Director, APEC Centre, University of Berkeley California - "The Political Economy of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific: A U.S. Perspective"
  
  
• Dr Sherry Stephenson, Acting Director of the Department of Trade, Tourism and Competitiveness, Organization of American States (OAS) - "Lessons from the Free Trade Area of the Americas for APEC Economies"
  
  
• Dr Robert Scollay, Associate Professor and Director of APEC Study Centre, University of Auckland - "Prospects for Linking Preferential Trade Agreements in the Asia-Pacific Region"
  
  
• Dr Chia Siow Yue, Senior Research Fellow, Singapore Institute of International Affairs; Dr Hadi Soesastro, former Executive Director and Senior Economist at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (Jakarta) - "ASEAN Perspective on Promoting Regional and Global Freer Trade"