An Outlook on Asian Integration

Revision with unchanged content. The three largest regional economies, North America, Europe and Asia have evolved along different integration paths. North America has NAFTA which is a preferential trade area, Europe has the EU which is an economic union, but Asia, what does it have and where is it going? China, Japan and South-Korea have operated relatively independently, each with its own trade policies and some bi-lateral agreements. ASEAN has preferential trade agreements among its members, but the small countries still struggle to compete with China. Companies have used Asia to reduce their manufacturing costs and have contributed to Asian economies through foreign direct investment. FDI can be quickly impacted by changes in trade/tariff policies. The book explores the similarities and differences between Asia and the other large economies, including trade policy development and FDI flow, to predict what a likely outcome may be for future trade policies in Asia. This book would be helpful to company managers of international corporations and industry groups that are dealing with the effects that tariffs have on them as foreign investors in Asia and as competitors to Asian manufactures and firms.