FTAAP
Philippine President Benigno Aquino said his government is studying the benefits of joining the TPP before it makes a decision.
China got APEC trade ministers to agree on a two-year study of a potential FTAAP, but not a launch of negotiations as it wanted.
China’s push for the proposed Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) at the upcoming Apec summit has cleared the first hurdle, with senior officials of the 21-member grouping agreeing to launch a feasibility study.
The road map will not include detailed steps for when and how to crystallize the vision of the massive Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific being pushed by Beijing, amid reluctance expressed by the United States, negotiation sources say.
There appears to be a race between the United States and China to dominate the rules-setting game for trade by being the first to announce plans of realising a Free Trade Agreement for the Asia-Pacific — with billions of dollars in trade at stake.
This week 21 trade ministers from the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation group are making plans for the Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP), which they hope to finalise by end of 2015.
The US is reportedly opposing discussion of FTAAP at the upcoming APEC summit.
The process of launching the Asia-Pacific Free Trade Area (FTA) is expected to start during the upcoming Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders’ Meeting in Beijing, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Wednesday.
China’s pursuit of free trade within the Asia-Pacific region is shaping up as one of the key issues to be discussed at this year’s APEC summit to be held in Beijing in November.
The proposed APEC free trade agreement (FTAAP) is expected to be on a larger scale than the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement, but many Vietnamese businesses are not enthusiastic about the trade pact.
The trade ministers of economies belonging to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) discussed over the weekend potential pathways to a wider Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP).
The backlash from the Japanese farming lobby against the TPP is already looking savage and it seems safe to predict that this will prove to be the case elsewhere in Asia as negotiations on the TPP push on apace.
Asia-Pacific leaders said they will take “concrete steps” toward creating a “comprehensive” regional free-trade agreement, without setting a target for achieving that goal.
The US is pushing to complete trade talks with nine Asia-Pacific countries by late next year that lays the groundwork for a bigger agreement that includes China, Trade Representative Ron Kirk said.
Senior regional officials concluded their meeting Monday at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Yokohama with a decision to pursue a regionwide free-trade zone.
Pacific Rim economies are debating whether to change the informal Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum so that it can negotiate the creation of a Pacific-wide free trade zone.
At the annual APEC summit meeting in Yokohama on Nov. 13 and 14, the 21-member forum is planning to specify for the first time in its declaration the possible efforts to realize the long-term goal of creating a Free Trade Area of the Asia Pacific.
The Japanese government is set to include a reference to Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations in its economic partnership agreement guidelines that are soon expected to receive Cabinet approval.
A business advisory body to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum called on APEC leaders Thursday to recommit themselves to create a region-wide free trade zone, saying it is the "most practical means" to realize trade liberalization.
In less than two months, Pacific Rim countries are expected to present a clear picture on how they will pursue their long-term vision of creating a regionwide free-trade zone.
