亞太自由貿易區(FTAAP)的經濟效應、策略性角色與可行性分析

由美國強力主導，在去(2006)年APEC年會中正式與澳洲、日本、新加坡、加拿大、智利與紐西蘭七個經濟體，共同倡議「亞太自由貿易區」(Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific, FTAAP)之舉，可說是繼去年7月杜哈談判回合重挫之後，另一項足以對國際經貿體系產生重大影響的變數。

Following the breakdown of the Doha Round talks in July 2006, the strongly US-led advocacy for the establishment of a Free Trade Area of the Asia-Pacific (FTAAP) under the framework of APEC can be said to have created another variable of great impact on the international economic and trade system.
The FTAAP proposal is closely and inseparably linked to the currently rising ascendancy of regionalism, and is endowed with considerable strategic importance as an alternative to the revived Doha Development Agenda (DDA) in case the DDA ends in failure, and to address the after-effects of the proliferation of FTAs within the Asia-Pacific region. This paper also examines the economic effects of the FTAAP (with East Asian economic integration as reference) and obstacles that need to be overcome, such as issues pertaining to the rise of East Asian regionalism and APEC“open regionalism.”The conclusion presents a detailed discussion of why the outcome of the Doha Round talks and the attitude of the US should be key factors in determining whether or not the FTAAP can succeed.