MULTILATERALIZATION OF PREFERENCES VERSUS RECIPROCITY: RELATIVE IMPACTS OF EAST ASIAN FTAs WHEN UTILIZATION IS INCOMPLETE1

With the Doha Round of the WTO stalled indefinitely, bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) have proliferated. While countries in Asia were relative latecomers to preferential liberalization, they have been catching-up rapidly. Indeed, the proliferation of FTAs has been greatest in Asia over the past decade. As of January 2013, there are 109 FTAs involving an Asian country already in effect, 132 that have been signed, 75 being negotiated, and 50 more proposals (see Menon 2013). The outcome of the proliferation of often overlapping FTAs has been described as the spaghetti bowl effect, or in Asia, the noodle bowl effect.