Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism Conference
Agenda

Registration

Welcome Remarks

Masahiro Kawai, Asian Development Bank Institute (ADBI)
Richard E. Baldwin, Centre for Trade and Economic Integration of the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies, (IHEID/CTEI)

Keynote Speech (video recording) - Pascal Lamy, World Trade Organization

Session 1 : Stocktaking
This session discusses the current status of Asian economic integration through trade and FDI, Asian governments’ approaches to FTAs and their future directions, as well as various issues and potential problems arising from overlapping rules of origins (ROOs) in FTAs involving some Asian countries.

Chair: Richard E. Baldwin, IHEID/CETI

Trade and Investment Patterns in Asia: Implications for the Debate on Multilateralising Regionalism

Presenter: Prema-Chandra Athukorala, Australian National University

• Presentation: Trade and Investment Patterns in Asia: Implications for the Debate on Multilateralising Regionalism [ PDF 2.2MB | 25 pages ]

The Status of East Asian FTAs

Presenter: Zhang Yunling, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

• Presentation: The Status of East Asian FTAs [ PDF 232.8KB | 17 pages ]

The Asian Noodle Bowl: Is It Serious?

Presenter: Masahiro Kawai, ADBI
Ganeshan Wignaraja, Asian Development Bank (ADB)

• Presentation: The Asian Noodle Bowl: Is It Serious? [ PDF 198.1KB | 33 pages ]

Coffee Break

Shujiro Urata, Graduate School of Asia-Pacific Studies, Waseda University, Japan

Hal Hill, Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies, Australian National University

Siow Yue Chia, Singapore Institute of International Affairs

Open Floor Discussion

Lunch Break

Session 2 : Challenges of Multilateralization in Asia: Lessons from other Regions
This session analyzes the spaghetti bowl and associated problems with overlapping ROOs in Europe and the Western Hemisphere and provides lessons for Asian countries. Furthermore, this session identifies various challenges that Asia faces in consolidating bilateral and plurilateral FTAs into a single, region-wide FTA.

Chair: Narongchai Akrasanee, Export-Import Bank of Thailand

What challenges for an East Asian FTA?

Presenter: Inkyo Cheong, Inha University, Republic of Korea

• Presentation: What challenges for an East Asian FTA? [ PDF 185.3KB | 20 pages ]

Regional integration in the Americas: State of Play, Lessons, and Ways Forward

Presenters: Antoni Estevadeordal, Matthew Shearer, and Kati Suominen, Inter-American Development Bank

• Presentation: Western Hemisphere Spaghetti Bowl: Lessons and Policy Options for Asia [ PDF 886.2KB | 72 pages ]

Lessons from the European spaghetti bowl

Presenter: Richard E. Baldwin, IHEID/CETI

• Presentation: Lessons from the European spaghetti bowl [ PDF 451.1KB | 16 pages ]

Jayant Menon, ADB

Ram Upendra Das, Research and Information System for Developing Countries, India

Mary Elizabeth Chelliah, Ministry of Trade and Industry (MTI), Singapore

Open Floor Discussion

Coffee Break

Session 3: Ideas for Solutions
This session primarily discusses the applicability of alternative regional ideas to Asia and the pros and cons of the various ASEAN+ concepts. In addition, issues related to cross-regional FTAs (bilaterals with US and EU), such as economic benefits and costs, feasibility, and alternative scenarios for their achievement, will be examined in this session.

Chair: Mary Elizabeth Chelliah, MTI, Singapore

Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism

Presenters: Richard E. Baldwin, IHEID/CTEI and Masahiro Kawai, ADBI

• Presentation: Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism [ PDF 152.7KB | 15 pages ]

FTAAP: A Constructive Approach to Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism

Presenters: C. Fred Bergsten, Marcus Noland, and Jeffrey J. Schott, Peterson Institute for International Economics, USA

• Presentation: FTAAP: A Constructive Approach to Multilateralizing Asian Regionalism [ PDF 304.4KB | 9 pages ]

Asia-Europe (ASEM) FTA?

Presenter: Michael Plummer, School of Advanced International Studies, The Johns Hopkins University, Bologna, Italy

• Presentation: Asia-Europe (ASEM) FTA? [ PDF 398.6KB | 41 pages ]

Narongchai Akrasanee, Export-Import Bank of Thailand

Ponciano Intal, De La Salle University-Angelo King Institute, Philippines

Pham Quy Long, Vietnam Institute for Northeast Asian Studies

Open Floor Discussion

First day Summary

Chair: Masahiro Kawai, ADBI

Presentation:

Regionalism: Challenges for the WTO
This presentation reviews the historical relationship between regional agreements and the WTO, including in relation to the WTO rules, and argues that for a number of reasons the WTO has had limited effectiveness in shaping developments in regional arrangements. It then suggests different ways that the WTO might approach this issue, including in the light of APEC experience with best practices. In addition, the discussion sets the debate in emerging thinking about the role of the WTO more as a rule-setting and rule-keeping agent than as a vehicle for trade liberalization, as well as thinking about a third function for the WTO that goes beyond mere legislation and litigation (the “missing middle”).

Presenter: Patrick Low, World Trade Organization

• Presentation: Regionalism: Challenges for the WTO [ PDF 121.8KB | 11 pages ]

Discussant:

Fukunari Kimura, Keio University, Japan

Coffee Break

High-Level Panel

Wrap-up

Closing Remarks

Richard E. Baldwin, IHEID/CETI
Masahiro Kawai, ADBI

Lunch