East Asia Institutionalizes: China, Japan and the Vogue for Free Trade

18 Pages Posted: 25 Aug 2010

See all articles by Timothy Webster

Timothy Webster

Western New England University School of Law

Date Written: April 20, 2007

Abstract

In the past decade, East Asia has taken steps to increase regional integration. This paper examines the vogue for Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) currently raging in China and Japan. After mapping the regional links that knit East Asia together during the 1990s and 2000s, the focus then shifts to the specific trade agreements that China and Japan have signed. Both countries exhibit a particular FTA “style;” Japan has adopted a more orthodox and comprehensive approach to its treaties, while China has shown greater flexibility and gradualism when dealing with FTA partners. It is still unclear whether these efforts will lead to a region-wide FTA, or a continued crisscrossing of bilateral arrangements. In either case, China's eagerness to adapt to partner country expectations likely gives it an edge in becoming the regional hub of East Asia

Keywords: Free Trade Agreements, Institutionalization, China, Japan, Regionalization

Suggested Citation

Webster, Timothy, East Asia Institutionalizes: China, Japan and the Vogue for Free Trade (April 20, 2007). Nordic Journal of International Law, Vol. 77, p. 308, 2008, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1665126

Timothy Webster (Contact Author)

Western New England University School of Law ( email )

1215 Wilbraham Road
Springfield, MA 01119
United States

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