During the past two decades multilateral negotiations under the auspice of the WTO failed to bridge the differences between developed and developing countries. For this reason, Free-Trade agreements (FTAs) and Regional Trade Agreements(RTAs) have been the preferred choice for further free-trade. Different from the traditional “static analysis” or “dynamic time path analysis” approach, in the chapter “SPS, Public Health and Environmental Provisions in East Asia RTAs: ASEAN and China” the author analyzed China and ASEAN RTAs proposals. The author indicated that there are four reasons for China to further its participation in global trade: gaining more favorable market access and improving foreign investment conditions; seeking for stable energy vendors from multiple sources; showing its friendly attitude as a reliable trade partner and; looking for supporters in the international community for China’s market-economy status. Two major features arise from China’s RTAs: comprehensiveness and flexibility. Chinese RTAs generally cover all main trade-related issues and each agreement incorporates specially tailored aspects regarding the other contracting parties. For the ASEAN FTAs, the author pointed out that both economic and social considerations are central to the agreement. Throughout the negotiation between China and ASEAN Members the flexibility could be observed by the utilization of “sequential approach” or “a single undertaking approach”. According to the author, ASEAN FTAs compare to the previous FTAs negotiated by China are more liberalized, detailed, practical with implementation procedure in the field of food and health. However, with the environment deterioration emerging in many cities in China, the urgency lead to a transition of China’s attitude on environmental protection. It is important to keep in mind that the challenges that China is facing on food security and public health are a direct consequence of thirty years of unbalanced economic development that put economic growth first.
PDFPDFStay tuned for news on sustainable development, environment and climate change, international trade and human rights, Chinese issues and much more!
.png)
