Titanic FTAs

There seems to be no conclusive note on strengthening multilateralism except for the lip service generally paid by the World Trade Organization (WTO) members during their meetings, only to go back and get increasingly involved in their respective regional pursuits. The success of the Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in the Hong Kong Ministerial is crucial for the future growth of the developing countries as well as for good future economic prospects for the developed countries. In case the Asian developing countries would like to adopt a dual strategy of mix of regionalism and multilateralism, they need to adopt a careful approach while treading this path. Small and narrow regional trade agreements (RTAs) can be costly as well as trade diverting. Larger and broader RTAs may be a better option. A Pan-Asian Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA) may be an appropriate response to the Enlarged European Union (EEU) and the Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA). Open regionalism through autonomous liberalisation within a pre-fixed period of time is a better option for PAFTA than preferential trade liberalisation.