• Journal of Korea Trade
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• v.26 no.2
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• pp.65-83
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• 2022

Purpose - The purpose of this study is to evaluate the economic effects of FTAs using the concept of value-added exports. So far, the economic effects of FTAs have been dependent on decrease in import prices due to tariff cuts in importing countries, but the actual tariff reduction need to consider the value added of the exporting countries. Design/methodology - Value-added export refers to the added value created in the exporting country out of total exports. Among value-added exports, direct value-added export is interpreted as the Regional Value Contents (RVC), from which the economic effect of the FTA can be analyzed. A modified GTAP-VA model takes into account RVC in order to estimate accurate effects of FTAs. Findings - By the re-evaluation of the FTA based on the RVC, this paper makes it clear that the economic effects of the existing FTA methodology have the possibility of overestimation. In addition, as a new FTA with a strengthened Rules of Origin (ROO) is being initiated, a negative impact on international trade and GVC utilization may occur. Originality/value - This study introduces the concept of value-added export in analyzing the effects of FTAs. The new analysis methodology of this paper emphasizes the importance of value-added exports. Re-organization of GVCs would change regional trade agreements and empower ROO by weakening existing GVCs and transforming the value chain from global into regional scope.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.47 no.4
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• pp.35-52
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• 2022

Air transport is at the core of global economic growth. There is a close relationship between the flow of regional elements and the growth of the regional economy. It is easy to misestimate the impact of airports on the regional economy without considering spatial spillover effects. This study attempted to establish an asymmetric economic geographical weight matrix by applying the Spatial Durbin Model with cargo volume and passenger numbers as indicators. The influence of spillover effects on the regional economy, including direct spillover effects and indirect spillover effects are studied. The results revealed that passenger numbers and cargo volume have significant positive spillover effects on the regional economy. The driving effect of the airport on the regional economy was considered from a wider space scope. This study contributes to the scientific evaluation of the aviation economy.

• SUVANNABHUMI
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• v.14 no.2
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• pp.251-268
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• 2022

Over the last few decades, global trade activities showed a significant increase, resulting in a rise of the wider global economic growth. The achievement is partly due to the more integrated global trade system under global trade regime such as World Trade Organization (WTO) that standardized the practice of global trade. On the other hand, it could also be seen that regional trade negotiation became more important part of global trade activity. The trade negotiation itself was pushed and tailored by regional perspective, which indigenized trade agreement. This research aims to analyze the indigenization of ASEAN's trade negotiation model. How has the current trade negotiation model within the region represented indigenous needs and aspirations? This study also offers to revisit the conceptual framework in identifying the trade negotiation model to measure the indigeneity of Southeast Asian automotive industry's policy. This research concludes by explaining the case studies which measure the effect of indigenization to the practice of trade agreement in the region.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.25 no.3
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• pp.233-272
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• 2021

The Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) agreement, signed in November 2020, comes shortly after the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) entered into force and the US-China Trade War escalated. We use a computable general equilibrium model to assess the long-term effects of these three developments on income, trade, economic structure, factor returns and employment across the world, and especially in Asia-Pacific countries. The results suggest that RCEP could generate income gains that will be almost twice as large as those of the CPTPP, and that the two agreements together will largely offset the substantial negative effects of the US-China Trade War for the world as a whole. All three policy developments, but especially RCEP, will deepen East Asian production networks and will raise productivity and increase wages and employment in much of East Asia. At the sectoral level, regional trade in non-durable and durable manufactures will experience the most growth.

• Asian Journal of Business Environment
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• v.3 no.2
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• pp.17-22
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• 2013

Purpose - This dissertation is based on previous research, and analyzes processing trade, which constitutes a major section of foreign trade in Shandong Province. Research design, data, and methodology - The study uses the survey data on polarization, which is a vital index reflecting the unbalanced growth of regional economic development. The article introduces the processing trade polarization index, and the processing trade polarization fluctuation rate, to predict the geographical polarization posture and development trends in Shandong Province. Results -The development of processing trade in Shandong Province shows the level of gradient from east to west. The first-line growth pole has been formed and developed, and the initial formation of the diffusion mechanism has taken place. However, coordination problems in accompanying regional development have become increasingly prominent. Conclusions - This study focuses on the development of processing trade strategy and suggests overall coordination of development objectives, using non-balanced development goals. According to regional characteristics and development objectives of the processing trade in Shandong Province, the region around the city is divided into innovation diffusion region, enhanced growth areas, areas expected to undertake development, and areas to upgrade in four levels, given the different policy proposals.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.17 no.1
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• pp.3-25
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• 2013

This paper evaluates whether the proposed FTAAP is a desirable policy option for APEC member economies and the world economy. More specifically, this paper qualitatively investigates whether the FTAAP satisfies conditions for a trade bloc to generate positive and sufficient net trade creation effect. In addition, this paper estimates the likely impact of the FTAAP by using a CGE model analysis. From the qualitative analysis based on statistical data, this paper strongly argues that the FTAAP can be a desirable regional trade bloc able to generate positive gains from freer trade. From the ex-ante scenario analysis using both static and capital accumulation CGE Models, this paper concludes that the FTAAP has great potential for improving welfare of participating APEC economies and will boost economic growth in the region. In particular, the FTAAP would be even better if it can be linked with liberalization of trade in services and enhanced trade facilitation.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.17 no.4
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• pp.385-415
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• 2013

Inter-regional free trade agreements (FTAs) - notably between Asia and Latin America - are growing in numbers and complexity. There is an absence of an agreed methodology for empirical assessments on the content of FTAs and little research. This paper proposes a framework to assess liberalization in FTAs in goods and services and new trade policy issues relating to regulatory barriers. Next, it applies this framework to studying the 22 Asia-Latin America FTAs in existence. The findings suggest that Asia-Latin American FTAs have laid the foundations for inter-regional integration by liberalizing the trade in goods and services and reducing some regulatory barriers. Deepening FTAs and adopting structural reforms will enhance Asia-Latin American integration in the future.

• East Asian Economic Review
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• v.22 no.4
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• pp.427-465
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• 2018

East Asia, for long the epitome of successful engagement in trade, faces serious challenges: technological change that may threaten the very model of labor intensive industrialization and a backlash against globalization that may reduce access to important markets. The analysis in this article suggests that how East Asia copes with these global challenges will depend on how it addresses three more proximate national and regional challenges. The first is the emergence of China as a global trade giant, which is fundamentally altering the trading patterns and opportunities of its neighbors. The second is the asymmetric implementation of national reform - in goods trade and investment versus services - which is affecting the evolution of comparative advantage and productivity in each country. The third is the divergence between the relatively shallow and fragmented agreements that regulate the region's trade and investment and the growing importance of regional and global value chains as crucial drivers of productivity growth.

• Korea Trade Review
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• v.46 no.4
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• pp.39-60
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• 2021

Despite the fast growth and rising importance of digital trade, there still exists no multilateral agreement governing digital trade. Significant differences in policy directions regarding key digital trade issues among the U.S., EU and China are the main stumbling blocks for reaching agreement on the multilateral front. To overcome this deficiency in digital trade rules, there has been active movement among mainly countries in the Asia-Pacific region for rule-making on digital trade. Starting with the CPTPP chapter on E-Commerce in 2018, there has been a series of digital trade rules agreed in bilateral or plurilateral formats, such as the USMCA, USJDTA, DEPA, DEA and RCEP. Korea is currently only member of RCEP, which contains an e-commerce chapter with lower levels of commitment as compared to other digital trade agreements. This paper provides a broad analysis of the recently concluded digital trade agreements, comparing the different coverage of rules, levels of commitment, and rules templates. The analysis aims to provide implications for the desirable direction of rule-making on digital trade and Korea's digital trade strategy.

• Journal of Internet Computing and Services
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• v.25 no.4
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• pp.73-86
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• 2024

With the acceleration of regional economic integration, the agricultural trade network within the RCEP region presents new opportunities and challenges for member countries. This study focuses on agricultural trade among RCEP members from 2011 to 2020, utilizing social network analysis to explore the structural characteristics and evolutionary trends of the trade network. Additionally, an extended gravity model is employed to empirically analyze the key factors influencing South Korea's agricultural trade with other member countries. The findings reveal that: (1) Agricultural trade relationships within the RCEP region are stable and mature, with high interconnectivity in the trade network, indicating a trend towards balanced development. (2) The positions of member countries within the agricultural trade network are characterized by both high density and heterogeneity. (3) South Korea's agricultural trade with RCEP member countries is positively influenced by the economic size, population size, and governance level of its trading partners, while South Korea's own indicators show no significant effect. The trade distance between South Korea and member countries also has a positive impact on agricultural trade. By combining social network analysis with an extended gravity model, this study provides a multi-faceted quantitative analysis of the RCEP agricultural trade network, offering new insights into regional agricultural trade. It also provides empirical evidence for agricultural trade cooperation between South Korea and other RCEP countries.