This paper will examine the level of services trade integration in Asia in comparison with Europe and North America. The main empirical findings of this paper are that: (i) the regional bias of services trade in Asia is as high as or higher than in Europe and North America; (ii) in Asia, the...

What kind of technical assistance and capacity building benefits do developing countries enjoy if they sign a free trade agreement (FTA) with developed countries? This is a frequently asked question among developing country officials involved in FTA policymaking. While we tend to normatively...

At the Ninth Ministerial Conference of the World Trade Organization (WTO) held in Bali on 3–6 December 2013, the ministers agreed upon the WTO Agreement on Trade Facilitation (ATF). This paper assesses the level of ambition of the ATF from two angles. First, the use of softening language in...