Asia Regional Integration Center

Amidst the stalled Doha global trade talks, free trade agreements in economically important Asia are increasingly becoming a significant trade policy instrument - with nearly 50 free trade agreements in effect today and many more in the pipeline. The session, Business Responses to Free Trade Agreements in Asia will review recent trends in the proliferation of FTAs, their impact on business, and highlight Asia's particular interest in cross-regional trade agreements involving North America and Canada, as well as the European Union. This event is organized by ADB and ADBI. Read more.

Masahiro Kawai and Ganeshan Wignaraja discuss the proliferation of FTAs in East Asia—45 FTAs have been adopted over the last decade, with the People's Republic of China, Japan and the Republic of Korea taking the lead. The brief also examines the varieties of national FTA strategies in Northeast and Southeast Asia and analyzes information on FTA use, impediments, and rules of origin. Finally, it explores a possible way forward, with the formation of a region-wide FTA seen as a way to achieve a deep WTO Doha trade deal.Download the policy brief on FTAs in East Asia. This paper was presented at the International Economic Forum of the Americas - Conference of Montreal on 9 June 2010.

In this paper, Peter Warr, Jayant Menon, and Arief Anshory Yusuf explore the poverty impact of government expenditures associated with the Nam Theun II hydroelectric dam project—the largest of several hydroelectric dam projects in the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Using a multi-sector/multi-household general equilibrium model of the economy, the authors find that poverty incidence declines under the entire range of distributional assumptions considered in the analysis. Nevertheless, the degree of rural-bias of expenditures is critical, with the most regressive of the pro-rural distributions reducing poverty incidence by seven times that of the most progressive of pro-urban distributions. Read more.

ADB President Haruhiko Kuroda inaugurated on 25 May a 75-kilometer railway linking Afghanistan to Uzbekistan’s expansive rail network, and to regional networks in Asia and Europe.  The rail link is being constructed from a $165 million ADB grant and is set to be completed by the end of this year. In his remarks at an official luncheon, Mr. Kuroda said that the rail line is a hallmark of the 8-member Central Asia Regional Economic Program (CAREC). Read the news release.  Follow CAREC on ARIC website (resources include studies and research, news, agreements, and more).

Vangelis Vitalis, New Zealand’s Deputy High Commissioner to Australia, will talk about the rising trend of Asia-Pacific free trade agreements (FTAs), their implications on multilateralism in trade, and how these may provide a way of revitalizing global trade talks. Possible broad measures that can be taken to maximize the gains from regional FTAs will also be discussed. Reserve a seat with Liza Cruz.

On 17 May 2010, all ASEAN Member States have ratified the ASEAN Trade in Goods Agreement (ATIGA) under the ASEAN Free Trade Area. The ATIGA focuses on tariff and non-tariff liberalisation measures concerning trade in goods and includes the implementation of rules of origin. It is expected that the cost of doing business in ASEAN will be lower and trade-related transactions simpler. The tariff reduction schedules also provide businesses with transparency and certainty in making business and investment decisions. ATIGA is in line with the achievement of the ASEAN Economic Community in 2015.  Read the official press release of the ASEAN Secretariat. Follow the ASEAN Free Trade Area on ARIC's website (resources include legal documents, studies and research, news, and more).

Asian capital markets deliver spectacular gains as the prospect of strong growth combined with the return of appetite for emerging-market assets brings a surge in capital inflows to emerging Asia once again, says this year's issue of ADB's Asia Capital Markets Monitor (ACMM). This issue reviews the recent performance in emerging Asia's stock, bond, and currency markets along with the outlook, risks, and policy implications of that performance. A special theme chapter is titled "Managing Capital Flows: Issues and Policy Challenges for Emerging Asia." Download report. Read the news release and highlights. Listen to podcast at ADB site.

In this paper, Donghyun Park and Mario Arturo Ruiz Estrada propose the regional integration evaluation (RIE) methodology which is based on four dimensions of development – economic, political, social and technological. The central idea behind the RIE methodology is that regional development promotes regional integration. This RIE methodology differs from the existing literature in that it is based on a more comprehensive definition of development than just economic development. This definition of a region’s development incorporates the development levels of all regional countries as well as differences in development levels among regional countries. They apply the RIE methodology to assess the integration prospects of NAFTA, ASEAN, MERCOSUR and EU. Read more.