PUBLICATIONS & REPORTS

Contents Introduction

The share of ten East Asian developing economies in world trade in goods has risen sharply between 1990 and 1996, despite a deceleration of growth after 1995. Indications are that East Asian international services transactions are also rising relative to the global trend. The paper highlights the high trade dependence of East Asia and provides a synopsis of the key trade policy issues for these economies at the multilateral, regional and national levels. At the multilateral level these economies have a large stake in the successful implementation of the Uruguay Round Agreement, particularly the phasing out of the Multi- Fiber Arrangement. They also have much riding on the outcome of on going World Trade Organization (WTO) negotiations in services, the WTO work agenda, and in future directions of the WTO, including membership questions. At the regional level, the ASEAN Free Trade Agreement (AFTA) and the Asia- Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) agenda will influence the regional trading environment. Unilateral liberalization of international trade in goods and services and investment has enabled East Asia to capture the gains from freer international trade. This paper sets forth the author’s views as to how East Asian developing countries may advance their commercial interests in a manner consistent with multilateral free trade. Problems of contingent forms of protection such as anti-dumping, restrictive rules of origin and other regulatory issues are addressed in this context.