Can FTAs deliver market liberalization in Japan? A study on domestic political determinants

Solís, Mireya

doi:10.1080/09692290902997908

Cited by 20 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 21 publications

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“…A combination of these motives may underlie a government's FTA strategy -evident in the case of Japan, which has used FTAs both to achieve foreign market access and soften domestic opposition to agricultural liberalisation (Solis 2010). They may also be combined within particular bilateral initiatives -for example, the importance of both diplomatic and market access motives to China's 2005 FTA with Chile (Hoadley & Yang 2007: 342).…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Wilson

2012

The Pacific Review

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ABSTRACT:Following a historical commitment to multilateralism, in the last decade the trade policy initiatives of many states in the Asia-Pacific have turned to bilateralism through the negotiation of free trade agreements (FTAs). The corresponding proliferation of regional FTAs has thus far been understood to result from three broad motivations: a desire to advance trade liberalisation beyond WTO disciplines; mercantilistic efforts to secure preferential access to key export markets; and/or attempts to use FTAs to secure non-economic political gains. This paper argues that since the middle of the decade a new motive has emerged -the use of FTAs to improve resource securityparticularly by import dependent resource consumers in Northeast Asia. As yet unexamined in the literature, this paper seeks to document and explain this trend. It analyses the recent emergence of resource security concerns as a new FTA motive; the corresponding shifts in the FTA strategies and initiatives of Japan, Korea and China; and the dynamics of an emerging race for resource-related FTAs between the three governments. Based on this analysis, it demonstrates that resource-related FTAs could potentially improve consumers' resource security through either the liberalisation of trade, the extension of investment protections, or broader diplomatic gains with the targeted supplier. However, owing to supplier reluctance to enter into binding policy commitments for resource industries, their track record shows success in only the diplomatic dimension, and the prospects for a strengthening of their effects are poor. As a result, it is argued that while resource concerns have become a key motive for FTA initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region, they have not substantively improved resource security for its import-dependent states and are unlikely to do so in the future.2

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Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Wilson

2012

The Pacific Review

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“…The very institutional setup for FTA negotiation in which the involved ministries had equal status and effective mechanisms for bureaucratic coordination was lacking and made for a very cumbersome decision-making process. The strong role of the prime minister and cabinet office under Prime Minister Koizumi (2001-6) was hard to sustain, and the subsequent sequence of short-tenured prime ministers was unable to move forward major FTAs (Solís 2010).…”

Section: Mireya Solís and Saori N Katadamentioning

confidence: 99%

Unlikely Pivotal States in Competitive Free Trade Agreement Diffusion: The Effect of Japan's Trans-Pacific Partnership Participation on Asia-Pacific Regional Integration

Solís

Katada

2014

New Political Economy

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How can a state with dysfunctional trade politics spur the negotiation of major free trade agreements (FTAs)? Using the case of Japan's participation in the trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP), we develop an analytical framework on FTA diffusion that takes into account multidimensional (economic, legal and political) competitive pressures, and the ability of states to act as pivots in triggering FTA cascades. We disaggregate the makeup of a pivotal state into two main components -capability and credibility -and underscore Japan's significant latent capabilities, but also its serious credibility shortcomings. The TPP's boost to Japan's credibility raised the possibility of significant economic, legal and political externalities for specific countries which responded by accelerating FTA initiatives that had long stalled: the trilateral China -Japan -Korea FTA, a 16-state East Asian FTA and the Japan -European Union trade negotiations. This study extends the theoretical frontier in policy diffusion studies by clarifying the combination of factors that allows some states, but not others, to activate the externalities behind the dissemination of defensive FTAs.

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“…Authors have sought to explain Japan's move away from regionalism and towards bilateralism as well as Japan's decision to pursue cross-regional ftas (Manger, 2005;Solís and Katada, 2007). The role of Japanese business in supporting the fta has also been studied (Solís, 2010;Yoshimatsu, 2006). Others have investigated how resistance to liberalizing Japanese agricultural imports threatened negotiations (Mercurio, 2009;Solís and Katada, 2007;Yoshimatsu, 2006).…”

Section: General Considerationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although countervailing lobbying clearly influences which industries politicians protect (Manger, 2005;Solís, 2010), taking these forces into account is beyond the scope of this article. Doing so would require modeling the multilevel interactive negotiation process.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Japanese Access to Mexico:The Structure of theJapan-Mexico fta

Pezzola

2016

mycp

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The political forces behind trade negotiations extend far beyond a few specific industries or products. Delaying the liberalization of specific products within free trade agreements (ftas) provides policymakers with an important means of garnering support for ftas; however, the specific characteristics of industries that allow them to obtain this preferential treatment remain unclear. The analyses of Mexico's tariff reduction schedule (trs) within the Japan-Mexico fta demonstrates that subnational constituent interests directly influence which industries policymakers chose to protect. As such, the economic interests of geographically specific electoral districts influenced the design and ratification of the fta and Mexico's integration into the global market.Artículo recibido el 18 de enero de 2016 y dictaminado el 29 de enero de 2016. ResumenLas fuerzas políticas que estructuran las negociaciones comerciales se extienden más allá de unas pocas industrias o productos específicos. Aplazar la liberalización de productos específicos dentro de un Acuerdo de Asociación Económica (aae) genera una fuente importante de apoyo político para el acuerdo; sin embargo, siguen siendo desconocidas las características específicas de las industrias que les permiten obtener ese trato preferencial. Un análisis de la lista de adecuación de México dentro del aae México-Japón demuestra que los intereses de los votantes al nivel subnacional influyen directamente en cuáles industrias son protegidas. Por lo tanto, los intereses económicos de distritos electorales geográficamente específicos influyeron en el diseño y ratificación del aae México-Japón y la integración de México a la economía global.Palabras clave: Acuerdo de Asociación Económica, México, Japón, protección, intereses de los votantes.

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Can FTAs deliver market liberalization in Japan? A study on domestic political determinants

Cited by 20 publications

References 21 publications

Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Resource security: a new motivation for free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific region

Unlikely Pivotal States in Competitive Free Trade Agreement Diffusion: The Effect of Japan's Trans-Pacific Partnership Participation on Asia-Pacific Regional Integration

Japanese Access to Mexico:The Structure of theJapan-Mexico fta

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