US, China may go for more FTAs
REUTERS[ WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 17, 2003 06:23:21 AM ]
SINGAPORE: Size matters. That is what China and the US will find if they accelerate negotiation of bilateral or regional free trade agreements (FTAs) in the wake of the collapse of the WTO talks.
It will not be economic interests alone, but also political imperatives that drive a race by China, the US and latecomer Europe to sign country-to-country deals after the weekend failure in Cancun, said regional analysts.
“This involves the high politics of foreign policy,” said Razeen Sally, a trade expert with the London School of Economics. “My bet is that these FTAs in the region are going to revolve more around China than Japan,” he said.
Analysts expect the big trading powers to wield the biggest clout. “The US initiative is likely to speed up.
It will be China-ASEAN (Association of South East Asian Nations), India-ASEAN, Japan-ASEAN. But the ones that really count are China-ASEAN,” said Mr Sally.
He cited two primary reasons — China’s ambition to boost its regional role and its desire for market access that will have been spurred by the failure of talks in Cancun.
The US has one FTA in Asia — with Singapore — and a second, with Australia, is due by the year-end. Talks on more could gather momentum as US sees a way to boost trade and expand its influence.
economictimes.indiatimes.com |
