Trade Liberalization in Asia

Asia has been rather active to the call of trade liberalization. Numerous trade agreements at bilateral as well as regional levels have been signed to the point that Asia is perhaps the reason “noodle-bowl syndrome” was coined. Moving on, what should Asian Leaders focus on? Here’s my take:

1. Look at realizing the full potential of existing trade agreements rather than signing more. Many of the trade agreements are very heavy on removal of tariff barriers. Perhaps, they should now work on removing non-tariff barriers and improving trade facilitation.
2. Engage the private sectors more because ultimately, these are the end-users of the agreements. Many of the small and medium enterprises (SMEs) appear to be in the dark of how they can utilize and benefit from these agreements.
3. Resolve the “noodle-bowl syndrome”. This will result in more efficient utilization of the trade agreements. Additionally, this is perhaps a bottom-up approach to getting a consensus at the international level.