www.worldbank.org/eaptrade

A Negotiator's Guide to Regional Trade Agreements: Considerations from an East Asian Perspective
February 2008

This report maps out the evolving architecture of regional trade agreements concluded by the major trading countries and the countries of East Asia. It first looks at a group of systemic issues - preferential rules of origin, dispute settlement and trade remedies - and subsequently turns to substantial provisions on market access, intellectual property rights, and competition policy.  more...

A Survey of Non-Tariff Measures in the East Asia and Pacific Region
January 2008

This report seeks to give a multifaceted view of non-tariff issues facing countries in the East Asia and Pacific region both vis-a-vis their most important export markets as well as intra-regionally. While the first perspective is important today given the high dependence of East Asian and Latin American countries on the markets of the EU, the US and Japan, the second is important in the context of countries' efforts to bring about ever closer regional integration.  more...

Overcoming Trade Barriers from Standards and Technical Regulations
January 2008

One of the most important non-tariff measures is regulations and standards aimed at securing the safety and or quality of products, labeling requirements and protection of the environment. Standards are now recognized as a trade issue since they determine market access.   more...

Liberalization of Trade in Financial Services: Lessions from Latin America and the Caribbean
January 2008

This policy note is based on a project on financial services and trade agreements in the Latin America and Caribbean Region. It emphasizes that the liberalization of trade in financial services is helpful to, but is not a panacea for, domestic financial system modernization.  more...