Bilateral Free Trade Agreements Research Articles

Science diplomacy for stronger bilateral relations? The role of Arctic science in Iceland’s relations with Japan and China

ABSTRACT The aurora borealis research carried out by China and Japan in the Arctic state of Iceland has been received very differently both in Iceland and abroad. While the Japanese research has gone almost unnoticed for decades, the Chinese research has been received with much scepticism and negative media coverage, including talk of a possible security threat. This paper presents a comparative study which explores the history of the two research projects, as well as their execution and reception. Through the lens of the aurora research, the paper also explores the broader implications of Arctic and science diplomacy on bilateral relations between Iceland and the two Asian powerhouses. As the aurora research in Iceland has so far received limited academic attention outside the natural sciences, the paper is largely based on primary research, including thirteen in-depth interviews with key individuals closely connected to the projects. The paper demonstrates the different reception of the two projects in Iceland and discusses both organisational issues, such as differences in scale and capacity, and underlying factors related to international politics. Furthermore, the research demonstrates that the Japanese case is a purely science-focused collaboration devoid of science diplomacy, while in the Chinese case, science has been used as a tool to facilitate more strategic diplomatic goals – most importantly the bilateral Free Trade Agreement between China and Iceland.

ЕКОНОМІЧНА ДИПЛОМАТІЯ ВЕЛИКОЇ БРИТАНІЇ

The conceptual foundations of the United Kingdom’s economic diplomacy after Brexit is investigated in the paper. The role of economic diplomacy in supporting the country’s leadership and protecting national interests is analyzed. The program of economic diplomacy across five key areas: trade policy, shaping international norms and standards, concluding bilateral and multilateral agreements, participation in international organizations, and economic governance is systematized in the study. It is noted that the UK’s economic diplomacy system is based on a «whole-of-government» approach involving the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office and the De- partment for Business and Trade. This comprehensive strategy integrates efforts across external relations, domestic policy, commercial activity, and institutional development to consolidate the promotion of the United Kingdom’s national interests. The evolution of UK government agencies responsible for business, industry, and trade, leading to the establishment of the DBT in 2023 is examined in the research. The DBT’s key priorities, including economic growth, business support, promoting companies in global markets, fostering competition, advocating free trade, protecting business interests, supporting innovation, and leveraging post-Brexit opportunities are highlighted in the paper. It is distinguished that after Brexit, Britain seeks to diversify its trade ties by negotiating new bilateral free trade agreements and joining multilateral trade deals. It is noted that membership in the IMF, OECD, and G7 is crucial for the UK’s role in the global economy. Participation in shaping international norms and standards within organizations like the OECD and the World Customs Organization allowing Britain to play an active role in defining the «rules of the game» in global economic affairs and promoting its approaches in regulating trade, investment, and competition. It is concluded that economic diplomacy is a key instrument for advancing the UK’s trade, investment, and economic interests globally in the post-Brexit era.

RCEP이 아세안 무역에 미치는 영향

Purpose - This research aims to enhance the understanding of Asia’s economic relationships and international economic governance, with a focus on the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). Specifically, this paper seeks to provide recommendations for South Korea’s participation and effective utilization in RCEP within the Asian region. Also this study suggests the significance of the Rule of Origin in Free Trade Agreements (FTAs), and highlights the importance of a cumulative certificate of origin, which refers to a document that verifies the cumulative origin of goods in international trade, applicable to 15 RCEP countries, as compared to existing bilateral FTAs.
 Design/Methodology/Approach - This paper reviews previous studies related to ASEAN and RCEP, discussing the findings and key issues addressed in earlier research efforts. News articles and statistics either of political conflicts or economic implications are utilized in this context.
 Findings - Currently, the global economic governance system, centered around the World Trade Organization (WTO), is facing challenges due to economic and trade friction between major powers, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. Regional economic integration bodies like RCEP are taking on a new central role in international trade rules.
 Research Implications - This research implies that the economic relations in the Asia-Pacific region have been steadily strengthening, and this contributes to maintaining stability through economic interdependence even in the presence of political conflict, and there is a room for South Korea to contribute.

ECONOMIC TRENDS IN THE REGION OF SOUTHEAST EUROPE AND THE SPECIFICITY OF THE CEFTA AGREEMENT

<p><span style="font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 107%; font-family: 'Times New Roman',serif; mso-fareast-font-family: Calibri; mso-fareast-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-ansi-language: EN-US; mso-fareast-language: EN-US; mso-bidi-language: AR-SA;">Economic collaboration among Southeast European countries and the establishment of free trade with the European Union are seen as potential drivers for regional development. However, given the region's intricate political landscape and historical challenges, achieving these objectives faces hurdles stemming from political and historical complexities. In an effort to fortify regional ties, the European Union has provided support through mechanisms such as Bilateral Free Trade Agreements, Generalized Trade Preferences, and the Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) of 2006. Since the inception of the CEFTA agreement in 2006, the Free Trade Agreement has emerged as a pivotal catalyst in enhancing international trade in Southeastern Europe. It has played a crucial role in fostering economic integration, streamlining trade processes, boosting regional trade volumes, and establishing a cohesive economic zone that appeals to foreign direct investors and facilitates the mobility of professional service providers. Over the past fifteen years, intra-regional trade has experienced significant growth, accompanied by a rising proportion of trade occurring within the region. The liberalization of trade within CEFTA has not only stimulated market competition but has also spurred integration across various sectors and industries in the region. Furthermore, it has acted as a catalyst for foreign direct investment, both from external sources and within the region itself.</span></p>

Analisis Penjualan Mobil Listrik Di Indonesia Dalam Rentang Waktu 2020-2023

The automotive industry in Indonesia is growing rapidly with electric car sales increasing significantly by 2022. Hyundai is one of the largest electric car manufacturers in Indonesia, supported by the IK-CEPA (Indonesia-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement), a bilateral free trade agreement between Indonesia and South Korea in various fields such as trade in goods, services and other economic cooperation. The Indonesian government is also active in supporting the development of the electric vehicle industry through fiscal and non-fiscal incentives, as well as cooperation with Hyundai Motor Group in training electric vehicle technicians. Sales of electric cars in several brands and types such as Hyundai Kona EV, Hyundai Ioniq EV, and Lexus UX300e have increased from 2020 to October 2023, showing public interest in electric cars. Hyundai Ioniq 5 became the best-selling electric car in Indonesia in 2022, while the newly released Wuling Air EV in August 2022 also received attention for its affordable price and unique design. Indonesia has the largest nickel reserves in the world, so it has a great ability to make electric vehicle batteries. This will drive the development of the electric car industry in the country, with strong government support and increasing sales, the automotive industry, especially electric cars, will have a bright prospect to continue growing in the future.

Research on the Current Situation and Influencing Factors of China's Agricultural Exports to RCEP Member Countries

Agricultural trade has always been an important trade area between China and other RCEP members, and the formal landing of the RCEP agreement is bound to further promote China's agricultural exports to these countries. ASEAN, Japan and South Korea are China's main exporters, and Australia and New Zealand have great potential for agricultural trade. Based on the extended trade gravity model, the impact of influencing factors such as GDP, per capita GDP, geographical distance, population, agricultural land area, bilateral free trade agreements, tariffs and other influencing factors on China's export of agricultural products to other RCEP member countries was analyzed. The results show that GDP, per capita GDP, geographical distance, population size, and the establishment of bilateral free trade agreements have positive effects on China's export of agricultural products to other RCEP members. The primary weighted average tariffs and agricultural land area of other RCEP members have a negative impact on China's exports.

The UK’s new free trade agreements in the Asia-Pacific: how closely is it adopting US trade regulation?

In a global economy and system increasingly defined by new developments and complexities in trade, whose rules and regulations govern that trade matter. The UK has embarked on a new post-Brexit trade policy, signing its first wholly new free trade agreements (FTAs) with Australia and New Zealand. It is also in negotiations to join the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) as part of the UK’s aspirations to become an integral part of the Asia-Pacific trading community. This study’s research and text analysis on the UK’s bilateral FTAs with Australia and New Zealand reveals high levels of similarity with two larger regional agreements heavily imprinted with US trade regulatory norms—this being the CPTPP itself and the United States–Mexico–Canada Agreement (USMCA). The UK’s revealed willingness to strongly align itself with US trade regulatory norms has important implications for the Asia-Pacific. It also raises some key issues on what kind of trade partner the region might expect a post-Brexit ‘Global Britain’ to become, and how the UK’s deeper planned engagement with the Asia-Pacific could affect its strategic dynamics. This could significantly depend on how closely the UK is pulled over time into the US’ trade regulatory orbit.

PROBLEMS AND PROSPECTS OF JAPAN-KOREA INTERSTATE RELATIONS

The peculiarities of the current conflicts between Japan and Korea are investigated. At the present stage, bilateral relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea are distinguished by stability and predictability, and even too much – there is every reason to talk about their friendly, and even allied character. Now the two states simultaneously cooperate in the political sphere, and compete in the economic sphere, they have intensified their cultural exchange. At the same time, a number of unsettled issues of the historical past of both countries remain, and, in addition, there are contradictions related to the island of Tokto (Takashima). In the last decade, the emphasis in Japanese-South Korean relations has clearly shifted to the trade and economic sphere. The first round of free trade negotiations between the two countries took place in December 2003 in Seoul, and the sixth and last was held in Tokyo (November 2006). The reluctance of the Japanese side to fully open its own market was the reason that the negotiations came to a standstill. Governments are well aware that the conclusion of a bilateral free trade agreement will have far-reaching consequences. The merger of the markets of the two countries with a similar structure of industry, located in direct ieographic proximity to each other, will lead to the emergence of a large market that will unite 170 million tons. persons and will make up 17% of the world’s gross product. This new economic entity could also deter China’s economic growth. In addition, pooling potentials and close mutual cooperation will contribute. Japan and South Korea have been taking gradual but confident steps to meet each other lately. Despite the very difficult common history in the first half of XX century. and the sharp contradictions that took place in the second half of the XX century, the parties are trying to come to an agreement on solving the existing economic problems, as well as looking for ways to cooperate efforts in the development of national economies.

Сравнительный анализ китайского и южнокорейского подходов к торгово-экономической интеграции в АТР

The article provides a comparative analysis of the Chinese and South Korean approaches to the development of integration interactions in the Asia-Pacific region (APR), as well as their changes from the end of the 20th century to the beginning of 2023. As a result, it is shown that from 2003 to 2017, the main priority of the PRC was the conclusion of bilateral free trade agreements with individual states ready to make concessions in order to gain expanded access to the Chinese market. However, starting in 2018, China has revised this strategy in favor of the development of multilateral trade unions. The main reason was the loss of the US leadership position in the determining the norms and rules of APR trade after the country’s integration policy revision. Unlike China, the Republic of Korea (ROK) is steadily developing a network of bilateral free trade agreements, which have already covered almost all major trading partners. ROK is wary of multilateral formats due to the need to reduce tariff and non-tariff barriers in foreign trade, which may lead to a decrease in the protection of national producers. Priority associations within the framework of the new Chinese paradigm are recognized as the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), to which Beijing and Seoul have been participants since its inception, as well as the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), the Chinese application for accession to which was submitted in 2021. In this regard, this work assessed the prospects for expanding economic integration of China and ROK in the Asia-Pacific region through accession to the CPTPP. The stages of the accession process are identified, as well as the main obstacles to becoming full-fledged participants in the partnership. As a result, the hypothesis of the minimum chances of the PRC to obtain the member status is substantiated due to geopolitical problems, inconsistency of the country’s legislation with the rules of the CPTPP and high tariff protection of the country’s commodity market. In its turn, ROK meets almost all the requirements of the partnership, however, along with China, it will also not become its member in the medium term due to the more stringent conditions for the cancellation / reduction of tariffs within CPTPP compared to the RCEP

International Trade Agreements: Laboratories of Innovation or Propellers of Fragmentation?

ABSTRACT The original ‘building blocks or stumbling blocks’ debate considered the positive and negative impacts on the multilateral trading system in the form of the World Trade Organization (WTO) of free trade agreements (FTAs) at a time when FTAs were primarily bilateral and/or regional. This article recasts the debate in light of modern realities. Since the collapse of the Doha Round, WTO Members have increasingly formed FTAs with more than one large economy; plurilateral as well as bilateral groupings; and agreements including WTO-plus commitments. Further, Members have pursued plurilateral subject-specific negotiations both outside the WTO such as the Trade in Services Agreement and within, in the form of Joint Statement Initiatives. The article assesses from General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade formation to the present the extent to which the full range of trade agreements have facilitated experimentation and to which such agreements have had a fragmenting impact on the WTO. While the answers to these questions are nuanced, what is clear is that Members who wish to liberalize more deeply than other Members will find a way to do so outside the WTO rather than abandoning their objectives. As such, the debate today is no longer whether bilateral or regional FTAs are good or bad for a single undertaking-based multilateral WTO. Instead, we must weigh whether it is preferable for new plurilateral initiatives to be accommodated within the WTO at the expense of strict consensus or to reject such initiatives with the understanding that powerful Members will instead to pursue their objectives in plurilateral arrangements outside the WTO.

Foreign trade relations of the Peru Republic and Russia: history and development prospects

The article analyses the historical aspects and prospects for the development of foreign trade relations between Peru and Russia. The dynamics of RussianPeruvian diplomatic relations was studied, the most significant periods of these relations were highlighted, the crisis periods that affected cooperation between countries, including the Second Pacific War (1879−1884) were identified, and the collapse of the USSR. The most fruitful period in the history of Russian-Peruvian relations is marked by the beginning of the “most-favoured-nation” regime, established in 1969 after the signing of the Trade Agreement by the parties. The key aspects of the current state of trade cooperation between Peru and Russia are highlighted. The intensification of trade cooperation in the modern period occurred after the meeting of the presidents of Russia and Peru in 2008 at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Lima. The commodity structure of trade relations between Peru and Russia is considered. It is suggested that the priority tasks for the further active development of Russian-Peruvian cooperation can be considered the increase and diversification of trade, the growth of mutual investment, and the signing of a bilateral free trade agreement. The methodological basis of the research includes general scientific methods: historical-legal, structural-functional, comparative-legal, formal-legal, statistical. The information work was compiled scientific literature, monographs, regulatory documents, and reference materials that demonstrate the functioning of foreign economic activity, including between Russia and Peru.

International Trade and Customs Formalities in Georgia

The World Trade Organization (WTO) regulates international trade in all directions. GATT and the World Trade Organization (WTO) have regulated international trade in the past, present and will regulate it in the future. However, the World Trade Organization (WTO) still does not ensure the full implementation of the decisions made in the Doha Round, which is why free trade agreements(FTA) are used to liberalize trade at the international level. International agreements and the World Trade Organization (WTO) statutes provide governments of countries with a number of market protection mechanisms. Georgia became a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) in 2000 and has signed many bilateral free trade agreements. The mentioned agreements together with the legislation of Georgia form the legal base of customs control. Key words: World Trade Organization (WTO), international trade, goods clearance procedures, customs control zone.

Bilateral free trade agreements in a four-country model with a digital technology perspective

Using a four-country North-South trade model with two identical countries in each region, this paper studies two types of bilateral free trade agreements: symmetric free trade agreements between countries in the same region, and asymmetric free trade agreements between countries from different regions. It first shows that a symmetric free trade agreement is always beneficial to its members and characterizes when it will increase or decrease the welfare of all countries. It then characterizes when an asymmetric free trade agreement is beneficial to its members and when it is beneficial to all countries.Results of this paper provide a digital technology perspective for international trade agreements. In particular, they imply that countries with less advanced digital technologies in general have incentives to catch up to the more advanced countries and that in some instances it is also in the interest of the digitally more advanced countries to help the digitally less advanced countries shrink the technology gap.

The Diffusion of Remanufacturing Policies in Asia

Remanufacturing policies have been gradually introduced in Asian countries, such as China, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand. This paper reviews the process of diffusion of remanufacturing policy in Asia. The mechanism of this diffusion is also discussed. The United States began to promote the idea of remanufacturing around the year 2000 through bilateral free trade agreements with Asian countries and international forums such as G8 and the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC). This paper reviews the various efforts on remanufacturing in Asian countries and discusses policy options for promoting remanufacturing. It is crucial to identify the ways to promote remanufacturing in each country in the region to improve resource efficacy and strengthen the circular economy in Asia.

Negotiating Capital and the EU-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement

The 2019 European Union (EU)-Japan Economic Partnership Agreement is, so far, the EU’s largest bilateral free trade agreement. While the agreement itself is an example of the growing strength of the EU-Japan relationship, it is also an example of how two vastly different trade regimes can overcome entrenched structural and administrative styles to reach a consensus. This paper analyzes one of these barriers: negotiating capital. This concept represents the political economy of how trade negotiators utilize their legal expertise, negotiating flexibility, and limited resources to maximize free trade agreement outcomes. However, trade negotiators have differing amounts of negotiating capital, which depends on their home states’ structural and administrative constraints and how the trade negotiators define and develop their trade expertise. The EU’s and Japan’s contrasting structural and administrative approaches to trade negotiations and how trade experts define and develop their expertise lend a unique opportunity to understand how changes in negotiating capital can alter free trade agreement negotiation outcomes. Ultimately, the EU’s inclusive, quasi-federal structure and the negotiators’ need to consider the limitations on their trade mandate show how their negotiating capital is relatively limited and translates into a more integrated agreement text, i.e., provisions on public opinion. On the other hand, Japan’s top-down reformist trade regime leads to a more reactive strain of negotiating capital relying heavily on adherence to hierarchy and limited inclusiveness, resulting in agreement commitments that are generally weak and narrow. Negotiating capital is an important reality that all trade negotiators face. It is politically and strategically important for parties to understand how these various factors’ political economy impacts free-trade negotiations and outcomes.
 Received: 10 May 2022Accepted: 18 July 2022

Designing the Novel Imported Pork Producer Declaration Price Index Using Chinese Customs Import Declarations

Pork accounts for a high proportion of the Chinese population’s meat consumption, and imported pork is heavily traded, reducing supply of domestic pork in the face of continued demand. Global pork markets are becoming more competitive, riding the wind of the bilateral free trade agreement. The World Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) compiles prices for other major food categories but does not track changes in the imported pork prices in China. This study has filled this gap by designing the Imported Pork Producer Declaration Price Index (PPI_IPD). Using the well-known Producer Price Index (PPI) model, PPI_IPD is based on the data from Chinese customs import declarations, which has high reliability and reasonableness. For this reason, the index can help governments, enterprises, analysts, and others to conduct analysis for imported pork prices in China and avoid international trade risks. The findings show that proposed PPI_IPD is highly correlated with the Chinese domestic pork market and the pork price industry stock market. The index helps monitor changes in international pork prices and is an effective tool for analyzing and controlling trade risks.

Vietnam - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) in Bilateral Foreign Economic Relations Between Vietnam and Japan

Vietnam - Japan Economic Partnership Agreement (VJEPA) is the first bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) of Vietnam after the country joined the World Trade Organization (WTO). The article outlines the main trade and investment commitments of the agreement. The implementation of the VJEPA has promoted the flow of goods from Vietnam to Japan, and at the same time has attracted FDI capital from Japan. The role of VJEPA is confirmed as a catalyst to promote bilateral foreign economic relations between Vietnam and Japan in the article. Keywords: VJEPA, agreement, international trade, FDI.

Challenges for Western Balkan Countries Regional Integration: the Case of North Macedonia

This paper aims to elaborate on the possibilities that increased regional integration initiatives can have in boosting mutual trade among the countries in the Western Balkans region, such as: creating a Regional Economic Area by 2023; the creation of a Common Regional Market based on EU rules in the period 2021-2024 and the initiative “Open Balkan” created between North Macedonia, Serbia, and Albania for enabling free movement of goods and free movement of workers. For our research, the gravity model of trade for North Macedonia covering the period 2005-2020 is applied. The influence of bilateral and regional trade agreements on the country’s trade is analyzed. The results have shown that for North Macedonia, CEFTA-2006 membership has higher significance for increasing trade when compared to the agreement signed with the EU and to the other bilateral free trade agreements signed with EFTA, Turkey, and Ukraine. This paper point out that deepening trade integration through different regional initiatives could have a positive influence on increasing mutual trade.

Proposed alcohol tax reform in the United Kingdom: Implications for wine-exporting countries

AbstractA proposal to reform the United Kingdom's excise duty on alcohol is under consideration during 2022. The proposal would change the tax base from volume of product to volume of alcohol, which would see a fall in the tax on sparkling wine (by about one-fifth), a rise in the tax on fortified wines of 18% alcohol by volume (ABV) (by about one-sixth), and table wines with more (less) than 11.5% ABV would become dearer (cheaper). With taxes on most beers unchanged and taxes on spirits lowered slightly, the pattern of UK wine consumption and imports would alter considerably. This article draws on a global model of national alcoholic beverage markets to estimate the likely bilateral trade effects of this proposed reform to UK excise duties. It compares them with the trade effects of the United Kingdom's first two bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs), following the post-Brexit EU–UK Trade and Cooperation Agreement, which allows Australian and New Zealand vignerons tariff-free access to the UK wine market. Those two FTAs are estimated to cause the United Kingdom to import far more wine than is lost by the proposed changes in UK excise duties.

Have Bilateral Free Trade Agreements (BFTAs) been beneficial? Lessons learned from 11 U.S. BFTAs between 1992 and 2017.

This study analyzes aggregate data on trade flows to examine the performance of bilateral free trade agreements (BFTAs) between the United States and 11 BFTA nations in a two-dimensional approach. In line with the literature, this study applies the gravity model and analyzes the effect of the treatment using Poisson pseudo-maximum likelihood (PPML) panel data from 1992 to 2017. We use the PPML as an alternative methodology to an ordinary least squares model, as it can treat zero trade values and lead to unbiased estimates and different consistencies. We consider the trade in goods but excluded services because of the different nature of trade for services. Moreover, this study highlights the quantitative performance of BFTAs without considering the industry level to compare the overall benefits for the trade flows from the U.S. as an exporter to BFTA countries and vice versa. It thus adds to the debate on the effect of FTAs on trade flows and conducts pre-FTA and post-FTA analyses to compare the volumes of exports and imports during both periods. Findings vary according to the direction of trade; notably, some trading partners increased their trading volume to 388%. In sum, this paper provides a collective current state assessment to demonstrate the most plausible reasons for the effects of the 11 BFTAs, in addition to informing policymakers on the lessons learned from each BFTA.