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Multilateralising Regionalism: Spaghetti Bowls as Building Blocs on the Path to Global Free Trade

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Richard E. Baldwin

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Abstract

This paper addresses the final steps to global free trade - what they might look like, what sort of political economy forces might drive them, and what the WTO might do to help. Two facts form the point of departure: (1) Regionalism is here to stay; world trade is regulated by a motley assortment of unilateral, bilateral and multilateral trade agreements; (2) this motley assortment is not the best way to organise world trade. Moving to global duty-free trade will require a multilateralisation of regionalism. This paper presents the political economy logic of trade liberalisation and uses it to structure a narrative of world trade liberalisation since 1947. The logic is then used to project the world tariff map in 2010, arguing that the pattern will be marked by fractals - fuzzy, leaky trade blocs made up of fuzzy, leaky sub-blocs (fuzzy since the proliferation of FTAs makes it impossible to draw sharp lines around the Big-3 trade blocs, and leaky since some FTAs create free trade 'canals' linking the Big-3 blocs). The paper then presents a novel political economy mechanism - spaghetti bowls as building blocs - whereby offshoring creates a force that encourages the multilateralisation of regionalism. Finally, the paper suggests three things the WTO might do to help multilateralise regionalism. Copyright 2006 The Author Journal compilation 2006 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.

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File URL: http://www.blackwell-synergy.com/links/doi/10.1111/j.1467-9701.2006.00852.x
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Article provided by Blackwell Publishing in its journal World Economy.

Volume (Year): 29 (2006)
Issue (Month): 11 (November)
Pages: 1451-1518
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Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:29:y:2006:i:11:p:1451-1518

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References listed on IDEAS
Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.:
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Full references

Cited by:
(explanations, Please report citation or reference errors to , or , if you are the registered author of the cited work, log in to your RePEc Author Service profile, click on "citations" and make appropriate adjustments.)

  1. Anna Strutt and Allan N. Rae, 2008. "Assessing the impacts of prefenertial trade agreements in the Asian and Pacific region," Publication STUDIES IN TRADE AND INVESTMENT, in: Mia Mikic (ed.), Emerging Trade Issues for Policymakers in Developing Countries in Asia and the Pacific, chapter 9 Trade Policy Section, Trade and Investment Division, UNESCAP. [Downloadable!]
  2. Monika Mrazova & David Vines & Ben Zissimos, 2009. "Is the WTO's Article XXIV Bad?," Working Papers 0902, Department of Economics, Vanderbilt University. [Downloadable!]
    Other versions:
  3. Bezuidenhout, Henri & Naude, Wim, 2008. "Foreign Direct Investment and Trade in the Southern African Development Community," Working Papers RP2008/88, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
  4. Mikic, Mia, 2007. "Preferential trade agreements and agricultural trade liberalization in Asia and the Pacific," MPRA Paper 2947, University Library of Munich, Germany. [Downloadable!]
  5. Nenci, Silvia, 2008. "The Rise of the Southern Economies: Implications for the WTO-Multilateral Trading System," Working Papers RP2008/10, World Institute for Development Economic Research (UNU-WIDER). [Downloadable!]
  6. Park, Innwon & Park, Soonchan, 2009. "Consolidation and Harmonization of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs): A Path Toward Global Free Trade," MPRA Paper 14217, University Library of Munich, Germany, revised 23 Mar 2009. [Downloadable!]
  7. Fritz Breuss, . "A Prototype Model of EU's 2007 Enlargement," FIW Working Paper series 007, FIW. [Downloadable!]
  8. Toro, Francisco P., 2008. "Agenda Disputes and Strategic Venue Preferences: The Doha Crisis and Europe’s Flight to Regionalism," UNU-MERIT Working Paper Series 048, United Nations University, Maastricht Economic and social Research and training centre on Innovation and Technology. [Downloadable!]
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