How can RCEP benefit ASEAN? (Today Online, 25 August 2017)
How can RCEP benefit ASEAN? (Today Online, 25 August 2017) ASEAN is no stranger to trade deals, having inked its first regional trade deal with China in 2002. It has similar standalone “Plus One” free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia, India, Japan, Republic of Korea and New Zealand, which have collectively created a “spaghetti bowl”…
Read More(Re)realising the ASEAN Economic Community (East Asia Forum, 24 August 2017)
(Re)realising the ASEAN Economic Community (East Asia Forum, 24 August 2017) As ASEAN turns 50, how much closer is it towards achieving economic integration? The grouping fell short of its target of realising the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC) by the end of 2015, deferring 105 of its 506 measures. ASEAN declared that the AEC had…
Read MoreChina, EU seek to strengthen WTO trade remedy, notification disciplines (WTO News, 14 July 2017)
China, EU seek to strengthen WTO trade remedy, notification disciplines (WTO News, 14 July 2017) China has put forward a new proposal aimed at strengthening WTO disciplines on transparency and due process in anti-dumping and countervailing proceedings, while the European Union has offered a new initiative on improving the reporting of subsidy programmes to the…
Read MoreChina’s Belt and Road initiative presents risks and rewards for Southeast Asia (Today Online, 19 May 2017)
China’s Belt and Road initiative presents risks and rewards for Southeast Asia (Today Online, 19 May 2017) China has positioned itself as a global leader at the inaugural Belt and Road summit in mid-May. For countries in the region, President Xi Jinping’s ambitious and unprecedented initiative promising billions in infrastructure projects linking Eurasian trade routes…
Read MoreTPP: 11 nations agree on preparation deadline (Business Times, 22 May 2017)
TPP: 11 nations agree on preparation deadline (Business Times, 22 May 2017) ASIA has been warned many times against creating a “spaghetti bowl” of conflicting trade agreements, and with trade chiefs from three major powers pushing their own ideas at a series of weekend meetings in Hanoi, the prospects for general agreement on an Asia-wide…
Read MoreASEAN ministers promise to boost intra-regional trade, integration (Business World, 8 April 2017)
ASEAN ministers promise to boost intra-regional trade, integration (Business World, 8 April 2017) Top government executives from the 10 member-states met in Cebu for the 3rd ASEAN Finance Ministers’ and Central Bank Governors’ Joint Meeting and Related Meetings, completing the series of discussions. The leaders fortified their commitment to promote economic growth, financial integration, and strengthen…
Read MoreKorea brings China’s THAAD retaliation to WTO (Korea Times, 2 April 2017)
Korea brings China’s THAAD retaliation to WTO (Korea Times, 2 April 2017) Korea has filed a formal complaint with a World Trade Organization (WTO) panel against Beijing for its economic retaliation against Seoul’s decision to deploy a U.S. anti-missile system here. The Korean Agency for Technology and Standards (KATS), affiliated with the Ministry of Trade,…
Read MoreJapan will tell US to respect WTO rules: PM Shinzo Abe adviser (Economic Times, 1 March 2017)
Japan will tell US to respect WTO rules: PM Shinzo Abe adviser (Economic Times, 1 March 2017) Japan will tell the United States in their economic talks that any border tax the US government imposes on imports should not break World Trade Organization rules, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said. Yasutoshi Nishimura also…
Read MoreAsia advances free trade talks in wake of US TPP withdrawal (Deutsche Welle, 27 February 2017)
Asia advances free trade talks in wake of US TPP withdrawal (Deutsche Welle, 27 February 2017) Amid growing protectionism across the globe, an ASEAN initiative has brought together 16 nations to talk free trade. President Donald Trump’s decision to withdraw the US from the TPP has left a vacuum in the region. Negotiators representing 16…
Read More‘Protectionist’ India resorts to other tools to bypass WTO bilateral rules (Financial Express, 12 January 2017)
‘Protectionist’ India resorts to other tools to bypass WTO bilateral rules (Financial Express, 12 January 2017) With little flexibility under the World Trade Organization (WTO) and bilateral trade agreements to raise tariffs, India is increasingly resorting to other tools — anti-dumping duties, safeguard levies and minimum import prices (MIPs) — to provide the requisite protection to…
Read MoreASEAN a ‘more open market’ than EU, US: World Economic Forum (Channel News Asia, 1 December 2016)
ASEAN a ‘more open market’ than EU, US: World Economic Forum (Channel News Asia, 1 December 2016) ASEAN, the 10-state Association of Southeast Asian Nations, is a more open market for international trade than either the European Union or the United States, according to a World Economic Forum report released on Wednesday (Nov 30). The…
Read MoreEU blames China for WTO environmental trade talks collapse (Channel News Asia, 5 December 2016)
EU blames China for WTO environmental trade talks collapse (Channel News Asia, 5 December 2016) Europe’s trade negotiator Cecilia Malmstrom has blamed China on Sunday for scuppering a global environmental trade deal by submitting impossible late demands at World Trade Organization talks aimed at scrapping import tariffs on exports worth more than US$1 trillion. “China…
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