Economic Integration in East Asia and Japan's Response to the Financial Crisis
Thursday March 12, 2009, at 14:00
Sala Seminario - Planta Baja IBEI
Conference
Yorizumi Watanabe
RESUMEN
Japan has based its external economic policies as well as its trade diplomacy solely on the multilateral principles until the end of the 20th century. Growing importance of trade relations with countries in East Asia, however, compelled the Japanese government to revise its traditional trade policy based exclusively on the GATT-WTO principles. It was in October 2002 that the Japanese Foreign Ministry published its first policy paper on preferential trade arrangement leaning out from its traditional MFN approach. To date Japan has so far negotiated 15 preferential trade deals and six of which have been already in effect. This conference tries to explain the reasons behind the changing course of Japan’s trade policy and highlight the nature of Japan’s new approach in conjunction with the making of the open and free trading regime in East Asia.
Japan has based its external economic policies as well as its trade diplomacy solely on the multilateral principles until the end of the 20th century. Growing importance of trade relations with countries in East Asia, however, compelled the Japanese government to revise its traditional trade policy based exclusively on the GATT-WTO principles. It was in October 2002 that the Japanese Foreign Ministry published its first policy paper on preferential trade arrangement leaning out from its traditional MFN approach. To date Japan has so far negotiated 15 preferential trade deals and six of which have been already in effect. This conference tries to explain the reasons behind the changing course of Japan’s trade policy and highlight the nature of Japan’s new approach in conjunction with the making of the open and free trading regime in East Asia.