Evolutionary paths toward a region-wide economic agreement in Asia

► It is important to distinguish three kinds of intertwined relationships of regional agreements: “nested” agreements, “overlapped” agreements and “intersected” agreements. They have different kinds of problems. ► There are two approaches to a future region-wide economic agreement in Asia: consolidation approach and expansion approach. The two approaches defer in negotiation timing, the scope of agreement, and the treatment of new comers. ► The consolidation of several ASEAN+1 FTAs seems to be difficult mainly because selecting ASEAN+1 FTAs to be consolidated is not an easy task. ► The newly-created Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) has a chance to form the basis of a future region-wide agreement so long as the transparency of accession procedure and criteria are secured, and late-comers are not required to concede more than incumbents. ► Given its relatively liberal accession clauses, participating in Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement (APTA) is a good option for developing countries in Asia, rather than pursuing new bilateral South-South agreements.