The move to preferential trade on the Western Pacific Rim: some initial conclusions

Ravenhill, Frederick John

doi:10.1080/10357710802060519

Cited by 27 publications

(19 citation statements)

References 12 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…As predicted by those claiming that competitive bilateralism has powered regional FTA proliferation (Dent 2006;Ravenhill 2010), these initiatives have resulted in a competitive regional 'race' for resource-related FTAs. All three governments have targeted five key suppliers that reflect a spread of their needed mineral imports: Peru and Chile (copper), India (iron ore and bauxite), the GCC (oil and gas) and Australia (iron ore, coal and gas).…”

Section: Resource Security Concerns As a Regional Fta Motivementioning

confidence: 99%

“…In some cases security motives have predominated, particularly evident in the recent US strategy of using FTAs to reward cooperation by security partners in the region (Higgott 2004). Others have identified diplomatic goals as a catalyst, particularly in the use of FTAs by both China and Taiwan as a component of broader regional diplomacy programs (Hoadley & Yang 2007;Ravenhill 2008). Others still have identified contests over regional 'leadership' as a key driver -particularly evident in China's opening of FTA talks with the ASEAN in 2000, followed by Japanese and Korean courtship of the regional grouping as a competitive move in turn (Aggarwal & Koo 2005;Wesley 2008).…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The rapid proliferation of FTAs in the Asia-Pacific, which has been considered part of a 'new bilateralism' in the region (Lloyd 2002;Ravenhill 2006), has attracted scholarly attention given the dramatic change in states' trade policy approaches it implies. In this literature, a wide range of potential explanations for the shift have been offered -in one survey the Warwick Commission (2007) identified no less than ten distinct causes -and debate currently centres on which of these factors, or a sub-set of them, provide the best account of the process at play.…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Rarely, however, do studies on FTA proliferation identify resource security goals as a motive behind the regional trend. Several influential reviews of region-wide dynamics have failed to identify resource security motives entirely (Aggarwal & Urata 2006;Dent 2006Dent , 2010Desker 2004); and the few mentions resource security has received have typically been limited to the context of recent Chinese initiatives with countries such as Australia and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) (Jiang 2008(Jiang , 2010Ravenhill 2008;Ravenhill & Jiang 2009). …”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Such arguments are based on the observation that most bilateral agreements signed by East Asian countries in the first decade of the 21st Century are: (a) between countries with low bilateral trade volumes (Dent 2010);and (b) have narrow sectoral coverage and low tariff commitments (Ravenhill 2008); indicating that both their economic rationales and effects are relatively weak. Instead, it is claimed that political motives have underscored the trend.…”

Section: Motivations For Fta Proliferation In the Asia-pacificmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 4 more Smart Citations

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

Wilson

2012

The Pacific Review

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

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

show abstract

Section: Resource Security Concerns As a Regional Fta Motivementioning

confidence: 99%