2008年-世界发展银行全球_A_Negotiators_Guide_to_Regional_Trade_Agreements___Considerations_from_an_East_Asian_Perspective_90页_1mb

A Negotiator's Guide to Regional Trade Agreements: East-Asian Perspective Summary

Core Content

This report provides an analysis of regional trade agreements (RTAs) from an East Asian perspective, focusing on systemic and substantial provisions that are relevant for policy makers. It highlights the growing importance of RTAs in the context of stalled multilateral liberalization, particularly under the Doha Round, and explores how these agreements are evolving in terms of content, scope, and regional reach.

Main Views

1. Overview of RTAs in East Asia

• RTAs have proliferated rapidly in East Asia, with 24 agreements signed by 2006 and 34 more in negotiation.
• The proliferation is attributed to China's overture to ASEAN in 2001, which triggered increased regional cooperation.
• The trend is part of a global shift towards more comprehensive regulatory regimes rather than just tariff reductions.
• RTAs are increasingly involving geographically non-contiguous countries, challenging the traditional definition of "regional."

2. Systemic Issues in RTAs

• Rules of Origin (RoO): These define how much of a product must originate from an RTA partner to qualify for preferential treatment. They are essential to prevent trade deflection but can also increase compliance costs.
• Dispute Settlement: The mechanisms vary widely based on the development status and desired integration level of partners. Key aspects include the types of complaints, panel establishment, time constraints, enforcement, and choice-of-forum clauses.
• Trade Remedies: Most RTAs maintain WTO-like rules on anti-dumping, subsidies, and safeguards. Some high-integration agreements may restrict certain remedies, though this is rare.

3. Substantial Provisions in RTAs

• Market Access: Most RTAs substantially liberalize trade in the first ten years, though some agricultural, textile, and garment products still face prolonged tariff protection.
• Intellectual Property Rights (IPR): Developed countries, especially the US, are pushing for more stringent IPR provisions than those in the WTO (TRIPS).
• Competition Policy: RTAs increasingly include competition provisions to prevent anti-competitive behavior from offsetting gains from trade liberalization. These provisions are becoming more substantive, complex, and legally binding.
• Environment and Labor: These are not a significant feature in most RTAs, except for recent US agreements.

Key Information

1. Rules of Origin (RoO)

• Product-Specific Rules: These are the most common, using either:
  • Change in Tariff Classification (CTC): The most frequently used criterion, requiring a change in the HS classification.
  • Value Content (VC): Sets a maximum or minimum level of regional value added.
  • Technical Requirements (TR): Involves specific manufacturing processes, and is generally the most costly to comply with.
• Leniency Provisions:
  • De Minimis Principle: Allows a certain percentage of non-originating inputs without affecting origin status (e.g., 10% for EU, higher for some other regimes).
  • Roll-Up Principle: Inputs that qualify as originating in one stage are treated as originating in subsequent stages.
  • Cumulation Principle: Allows use of materials from other RTA members as if they were domestic. There are three types:
    • Bilateral Cumulation: Two RTA partners can use each other's inputs.
    • Diagonal Cumulation: Members of the same preferential origin regime can use inputs from any member.
    • Full Cumulation: Extends diagonal cumulation to include non-originating materials.
• Certification Methods: Vary in stringency, with self-certification being the least costly and government certification the most. The EU uses a "movement certificate" system, while NAFTA and others allow self-certification.

2. Geographical Reach of RTAs

• RTAs are no longer limited to contiguous regions and often involve cross-regional partnerships.
• Examples include EFTA-Mexico, EFTA-Singapore, and EFTA-China, indicating a broader geographic scope.

3. EU RTAs

• The EU has harmonized its RoO regime through the PANEURO system, which applies to all reciprocal preferential agreements.
• The system includes:
  • Diagonal Cumulation: For countries in the pan-Euro-Mediterranean zone.
  • Regional Cumulation: For agreements with ASEAN and other regions.
  • Full Cumulation: For EEA, OCT, and ACP countries.
• RoO are more stringent for products facing strong international competition, such as fish, vegetables, and textiles.

4. Americas RTAs

• The dominant model is NAFTA, which uses product-specific rules with multiple transformation criteria.
• Other systems include ALADI, Mercosur, and newer agreements like Singapore-US and Australia-US.
• The Israel-US and Jordan-US agreements are exceptions, relying primarily on value content.

5. East Asia-Pacific RTAs

• Early RTAs were general in nature, but recent agreements show a trend towards product-specific rules.
• AFTA is an example of a relatively uniform and less restrictive RoO regime.
• The report suggests that future RTAs in East Asia will likely adopt more product-specific and complex RoO systems.

Conclusion

The increasing number and complexity of RTAs in East Asia reflect a shift from tariff-focused to regulatory-focused trade liberalization. While these agreements offer significant benefits, they also introduce challenges related to compliance, enforcement, and the potential for protectionist influences. Negotiators must carefully consider the balance between trade deflection prevention and the costs of compliance, ensuring consistency and transparency in RoO regimes to maximize the benefits of regional trade cooperation.