scholarly journals Trade, Climate and Energy: A New Study on Climate Action through Free Trade Agreements

Energies ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (14) ◽  
pp. 4363
Author(s):  
Christopher M. Dent
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
International Political Economy ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Primary Source ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Climate Action ◽  
Trade Partners

Efforts to tackle climate change are taking place on multiple fronts. This includes trade, an increasingly important defining feature of the global economy. In recent years, free trade agreements (FTAs) have become the primary mechanism of trade policy and diplomacy. This study examines the development of climate action measures in FTAs and discusses what difference they can make to tackling climate change. Its primary source research is based on an in-depth examination of FTAs in force up to 2020. This paper is structured around a number of research questions forming around three main inter-related areas of enquiry. Firstly, to what extent are these provisions in FTAs essentially derivative of energy’s connections with climate change, and thus part of a wider trade–climate–energy nexus? Secondly, what kinds of climate action are FTAs specifically promoting, and how effective a potential positive impact may we expect these to have? Thirdly, are certain climate action norms being promoted by trade partners in FTAs and if so, then who are the norm leaders, what is motivating them, and to what extent are they extending their influence over other trade partners? In addressing these questions, this study offers new insights and analysis regarding a potentially important emerging trend in the trade–climate–energy nexus. Its international political economy approach and latest empirical research also provide a further distinctive contribution to knowledge in this inter-disciplinary area, developing new comprehensions of the relationship between trade, climate action and energy.

SINGAPORE AND ASEAN IN THE GLOBAL ECONOMY: The Case of Free Trade Agreements

Asian Survey ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 43 (6) ◽  
pp. 908-928 ◽  
Author(s):  
Teofilo C. Daquila ◽  
Le Huu Huy
Keyword(s):  
Trade Liberalization ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Economic Community ◽  
Regional Trade ◽  
Slow Pace ◽  
Asean Countries ◽  
Asian Economic Community

Abstract Given the slow pace of global and regional trade liberalization initiatives, Singapore has forged free trade agreements for economic and strategic reasons. Other ASEAN countries and ASEAN itself have also become interested in establishing FTAs with countries outside the grouping. In the future, ASEAN could form an ASEAN or an East Asian Economic Community.

Free Traders

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Malcolm Fairbrother
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Multinational Enterprises ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Scientists ◽  
Historical Case ◽  
Mass Public ◽  
Political Events

This book is about the political events and decisions in the 1980s and 1990s that established the global economy we have today. Different social scientists and other commentators have described the foundations of globalization very differently. Some have linked the rise of free trade and multinational enterprises to the democratic expression of ordinary people’s hopes and desires; others have said they were a top-down project requiring, if anything, the circumvention of democracy. This book shows that politicians did not decide to embrace globalization because of the preferences of the mass public. Instead, using comparative-historical case studies of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, this book shows that politicians’ decisions reflected the agendas and outlooks of various kinds of elites. On the basis of more than a hundred interviews, and analyses of materials from archives in all three countries, the book tells the story of how the three countries negotiated and ratified two agreements that substantially opened and integrated their economies: the 1989 Canada-US and trilateral 1994 North American Free Trade Agreements. Contrary to what many people believe, these agreements (like free trade elsewhere) were based less on mainstream, neoclassical economics than on the informal, self-serving economic ideas of businesspeople. This folk economics shaped the contents of the agreements, and helped bind together the elite coalitions whose support made them politically possible. These same ideas, however, have reinforced some harmful economic misunderstandings, and have even contributed to the recent backlash against globalization in some countries.

scholarly journals The Endogeneity Of Association Agreements And Their Impact On Trade For Eastern Countries: Empirical Evidence For Romania

2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Christophe Rault ◽  
Ana Maria Sova ◽  
Robert Sova
Keyword(s):  
European Union ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Flows ◽  
Economic Literature ◽  
Association Agreement ◽  
European Union Countries

The main goal of regionalization is the creation of free trade areas and the guarantee for countries to accede to a widened market. Many studies dealing with the effects of regional free trade agreements on trade flows already exist in economic literature and the increase of regional agreements among nations has recently stressed the key role of regionalization. However, the effects of agreements on trade have not yet been clearly determined in those studies. Our research in this paper aims at reassessing the genuine role of associations. For this matter, we particularly study the association of Romania with European Union countries. Our econometric analysis based on qualitative choice models highlights in particular why European countries chose to conclude an association agreement with Romania, and stresses the fact that European Union countries select endogenously the conclusion of association agreements. We also find a 29% positive impact of the association agreement on Romanian export performances.

Exploiting the Trade Potential from Integration: Analysing the Impact of Free Trade Agreements between ASEAN and India and China

China Report ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 54 (4) ◽  
pp. 442-466 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nguyen Xuan Trung ◽  
Nguyen Duc Hung ◽  
Nguyen Thi Hien
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Free Trade Agreement ◽  
Bilateral Trade ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Stochastic Frontier ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreement ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Stochastic Frontier Estimation

In this article, we use the technique of stochastic frontier estimation for the structural gravity model to analyse Vietnam’s bilateral trade and evaluate its exploitation of trade efficiency before and after its free trade agreements (FTAs) with China and India entered into force. The results from Vietnam’s bilateral trade data between 2000 and 2015 show that the ASEAN–India Free Trade Agreement (AIFTA) has had a positive impact on Vietnam’s bilateral trade flows while we found a remarkably negative effect on Vietnam’s exports but not imports after the entry into force of the ASEAN-China Free Trade Agreement (ACFTA). In addition, Vietnam’s participation in the regional trade agreements (RTAs) and FTAs has significantly reduced the costs of trade over time, and these impacts on Vietnam’s imports are much higher than those on Vietnam's exports.

scholarly journals Regional Economic Cooperation

2011 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Gordon M. Gough ◽  
Sivakumar Venkataramany
Keyword(s):  
Foreign Policy ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Economic Cooperation ◽  
Need To Belong ◽  
Regional Economic

Free trade agreements are an essential segment of the global economy. Regional economic cooperation is the fuel firing the push towards a global economy. Nations will need to belong to some type of regional economic cooperation unit to compete with other regionally aligned nations. This article provides three factors (1) an overview of the qualifications that exist regarding FTAs, (2) comparison of the four largest FTAs (EU, NAFTA, MERCOSUR, and ASEAN), and (3) FTAs effect on global foreign policy. These factors demonstrate the vitality of a regional future.

Political economy of free trade agreements in China, Japan, and South Korea: sectoral politics of the FTA wave, 1998–2016

2020 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 145-157
Author(s):  
Youngmi Choi
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Political Institutions ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Policy Decision ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Last Stage ◽  
Policy Decision Making ◽  
Joint Study

AbstractThe aim of this study is to analyze the different impacts of the determinants of free trade agreements (FTAs) based on the stage of the FTA discussions. By disaggregating the FTA formation process into four stages, this study finds that the influence of industry interest groups has a positive impact on FTA formation in the first stage, when two countries initiate the discussion by establishing a joint study. In contrast, it has a negative impact in the last stage, when signed FTAs need to be ratified in order to enter into force. Political institutions emphasized in the existing studies are likely to be significant in the initial stages, but lose their significance as the process moves forward. The findings of this study collectively support the hypothesis that a given FTA is the result of sectoral politics where interests and the power of industries have a significant influence on trade policy decision-making.

scholarly journals Heterogeneous Impacts of Free Trade Agreements: The Case of Japan

2019 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 1-20
Author(s):  
Kenta Yamanouchi
Keyword(s):  
Gravity Model ◽  
Free Trade ◽  
Fixed Effects ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Creation ◽  
Trade Data ◽  
Trade Partners

This paper investigates the trade creation effects of Japan's free trade agreements (FTAs) using aggregate trade data for the years 1996–2015. We estimate various specifications of a gravity model. Our main finding is that the effects of Japan's FTAs are not clearly observed when the gravity model is specified with three types of fixed effects (i.e., exporter-year fixed effects, importer-year fixed effects, and country-pair fixed effects). In fact, the effects of FTAs vary substantially among trade partners and around half of the FTAs increase Japan's trade values. Our results also suggest that FTAs with small trade partners tend to have large effects on Japan as well as other countries. Recently enforced FTAs, however, increase Japan's import values more rapidly.

Mass support for free trade agreements and factor endowment

2019 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 537-558
Author(s):  
Kim-Lee Tuxhorn
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Developing Economies ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Skill Level ◽  
Factor Endowment ◽  
Highly Educated ◽  
Economic Preferences ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Trade Partners

Does the factor endowment (FE) of trade partners influence mass support for free trade agreements (FTAs), and if so, how? Preference models based on factor endowment expect that individual attitudes toward trade partners should systematically vary by factors of endowment and respondents’ skill level. This paper provides the first systematic examination of the effect of trade partner’s FE on mass support for FTAs. Using a conjoint analysis design on a sample of respondents from developed and developing economies (the US and India), the findings show that respondents consistently favour trade partners with a highly educated workforce and a higher level of gross domestic product per capita. Moreover, preferences for these country attributes hold regardless of respondents’ skill level or their country’s FE. Data from a nationally representative survey on Canadian trade preferences offer additional corroborating evidence. Together, the findings offer limited support for economic preferences derived from factor endowment trade models, indicating that individuals, within and across countries, may share a common bias against trade with lesser-developed states.

scholarly journals Free Trade Agreements and Environment for Sustainable Development: A Gravity Model Analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 597 ◽  
Author(s):  
Xing Yao ◽  
Rizwana Yasmeen ◽  
Yunong Li ◽  
Muhammad Hafeez ◽  
Ihtsham Padda
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Low Income ◽  
Positive Impact ◽  
Group Analysis ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
High Income ◽  
Low Income Countries ◽  
Middle Income ◽  
The Impact

Free trade agreements (FTAs) have a key role in the global value chain. In the meantime, these are also disturbing the environmental balance of the world. The objective of this study is to check whether the trade is good or bad for the environments of countries that are bonded by trade agreements. This study examines the impact of FTAs on bilateral carbon emissions within the gravity framework. We find a positive impact of FTA agreements on bilateral CO2 pollution. However, in an income-based country group analysis, we find mixed evidence regarding FTAs. The analysis concerning high income countries indicates that free trade agreements are beneficial for high income countries, while, in the case of upper middle income and lower middle income countries, we find that the free trade agreements are not beneficial for their environments. These results of the effects of FTAs on bilateral CO2 pollution imply that low income countries have a greater pollution effect even after the implementation of an FTA due to lenient environmental standards. There is a need for developing countries to learn from high income countries, as their FTAs are beneficial for decreasing pollution.

scholarly journals The Trade-Labour Nexus: Global Value Chains and Labour Provisions in European Union Free Trade Agreements

2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mirela Barbu ◽  
Liam Campling ◽  
Adrian Smith ◽  
James Harrison ◽  
Ben Richardson
Keyword(s):  
Free Trade ◽  
Value Chain ◽  
Global Economy ◽  
Free Trade Agreements ◽  
Trade Agreements ◽  
Analytical Framework ◽  
Global Value Chains ◽  
Value Chains ◽  
Political Economies ◽  
Common Framework

Labour standards provisions contained within the European Union’s (EU) free trade agreements (FTAs) are a major iteration of attempts to regulate working conditions in the global economy. This article develops an analysis of how the legal and institutional mechanisms established by these FTAs intersect with global value chain governance dynamics in counoutries with contrasting political economies. The article formulates an original analytical framework to explore how governance arrangements and power relations between lead firms in core markets and suppliers in FTA signatory countries shape and constrain the effectiveness of labour provisions in FTAs. This analysis demonstrates how the common framework of labour provisions in EU trade agreements, when applied in a uniform manner across differentiated political-economic contexts, face serious difficulties in creating meaningful change for workers in global value chains.

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