Assessing the Quality of FTAs and Implications for East Asia

초록

This paper tries to assess the quality of FTAs in terms of tariff elimination and rules of origin. Although the improvement of NTBs and trade rules should be dealt with higher importance, it is not easy to evaluate them quantitatively. This paper analyzes market access in NAFTA, EU-Mexico FTA, Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations (ANZCER), AFTA, ASEAN-China FTA, Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JSEPA), and Chile-Korea FTA. Chapter II discusses tariff elimination in FTAs, followed by the evaluation on the stringency of rules of origin in Chapter III. In Chapter IV, the quality of FTAs is assessed, ranking ASEAN-China FTA and ANZCER to have the highest quality in terms of market access. Based on this assessment, the paper concludes that ASEAN-China FTA can be a strong candidate for a hub for economic integration in East Asia.