Expanding the P-4 Trade Agreement into a Broader Trans-Pacific Partnership: Implications, Risks and Opportunities
In 2005, New Zealand, Singapore, Chile and Brunei entered into a path-breaking free trade agreement, the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement which is also known as the P-4 Agreement. The agreement contains an open accession provision which explicitly contemplates the expansion of the agreement to include other countries willing to commit to its terms. The expansion of the agreement has important implications for the world trading system. Its broad coverage and open accession provision may suggest that the agreement has the potential to serve as a stepping stone in the path towards further multilateral trade liberalization in the WTO context. On the other hand, expanding the agreement could result in an agreement so powerful that its members no longer consider devoting energies to liberalizing in the WTO context to be of great importance. The article explores some of the unique aspects of the TPP as well as the potential implications of expanding the agreement, both for the East Asian region and for the broader multilateral trading system.
Korea’s Trade Strategies for Mega Free Trade Agreements in Regional and Global Economic Integration
Korea has developed rapidly since the 1960s. It is one of the four Asian tiger economies and a good model for developing countries. Korea shows the world how a developing country can develop its economy rapidly and become industrialized. Its development strategy has mainly been an export-oriented trade policy. As a result, its trade volume grew from $1 billion in 1966 to $1 trillion in 2011, which is a 1,000-fold increase within five decades. Since 2011, Korea has become one of seven countries with a trade volume over $1 trillion. However, the Korean economy has experienced turbulence as well as positive growth. It underwent severe economic crises such as the Asian financial crisis in 1997 and the global financial crisis in 2008. Its economy has been extremely vulnerable to the external economic environment, although it has improved and strengthened, particularly since the global financial crisis. During those two crises, the government carried out an appropriate trade policy with a strategic approach to upgrade its industrial structure and competitiveness in global markets.This article comprehensively discusses Korean trade policy and strategy over the last five decades, and how its national economy has developed rapidly. It also explores how the government sets its strategic targets in Asia and the Asia Pacific region. It considers two mega free trade agreements (FTAs) - the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and the Trans-Pacific Partnership - as new opportunities for further development. Therefore, it is wise to analyze these regional mega FTAs in order to maximize the national interest.
Protection of the Marine Environment: The International and National Regulation of Deep Seabed Mining Activities
This chapter provides an overview of the international and national regulatory framework pertaining to deep seabed mining activities. It begins by discussing the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, the backdrop for all marine activities – be they national or international – and examines the obligations of states to protect the marine environment from the harmful effects arising from deep seabed mining. Next, the chapter examines the international regime for deep seabed mining (i.e. “activities in the Area”), explaining the “common heritage of mankind” status of the Area (i.e. the international seabed); the functions of the International Seabed Authority (ISA), the international organization established to govern deep seabed mining in the Area; and the concept of state sponsorship of non-state entities (i.e. private actors) for deep seabed mining in the Area. The chapter follows with a discussion of the development of national legislation to regulate deep seabed mining, examining efforts in the Pacific region where many prospective deep-sea mining sites are located. This includes a look at the legislative regimes of several Pacific Island nations, namely, Papua New Guinea, Tonga and the Cook Islands, for whom deep seabed mining may soon become a reality – as well as New Zealand and Japan, countries with comparatively developed rule of law and legislative regimes that have undertaken or considered deep seabed mining in their national waters. Overall, the chapter critically describes and evaluates the current regulatory status in the international and national seabed areas and highlights some salient gaps that require urgent attention in order to ensure marine environmental protection and mitigate impacts on humans.