Liberalization or protection: Trade policy at a crossroads

Trade policies in the Asian and Pacific economies show signs of both protectionist and liberalizing tendencies with the overall outlook uncertain. The latter half of 2013 and the first half of 2014 have seen some positive signs of renewed interest in liberalization suggesting that post-2008 crisis pressures for the protection of domestic producers may be weakening. In the major G20 economies, the pace of introducing new trade-restrictive measures recorded by WTO had at least plateaued in the six months up to May 2014 (WTO, 2014a). At the same time, more liberalizing efforts were also recorded. Separately, the regional trade policy environment continues to be shaped by the negotiation of large preferential trade agreements such as the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) and Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) (see chapter 6 for more details).

Related Subject(s): International Trade and Finance