ABSTRACT
At the commencement of the 21st Century, the countries of East Asia face some important choices. Do they seek closer integration with the rest of the world through a further lowering of their tariffs and other barriers to trade, such as has taken place through the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and, more recently, the World Trade Organization (WTO)? Or do they concentrate their energy on pursuing the more insular approach of deeper regional integration, giving preference to products coming from other members of the region to the disadvantage of trading partners in the rest of the world? Or is there a middle course between these two extremes, which allows these countries, simultaneously, to pursue both closer regional integration and further multilateral liberalization? None of the answers to these questions are straightforward. This chapter explores these issues and discusses the options available to the region.
