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Bilateral ‘WTO‐Plus’ Free Trade Agreements: The WTO Trade Policy Review of Singapore 2004

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  • S. M. Thangavelu
  • Mun‐Heng Toh

Abstract

The World Trade Organisation's 2004 Trade Policy Review of Singapore (WTO‐TPR Singapore 2004) depicts the small and outward‐oriented economy as one of the most open countries to international trade and investment. The review highlights the benefits of the outward‐oriented strategy that has enabled the Singapore economy to weather recent external shocks such as the Asian financial crisis to the SARS and to the recent unfavourable conditions in the Middle East. In particular, the report commended Singapore's efforts on its liberalisation of the services sector and its economic benefits to consumers and global trade. However, the WTO‐TPR Singapore 2004 highlights several key areas of concerns: (a) the commitment to multilateral agreements with the rising number of bilateral free trade agreements signed by Singapore and (b) the lack of growth of total factor productivity, a key indicator for long‐run efficiency of the economy. The paper addresses the above key concerns raised in the WTO's TPR of Singapore in terms of its commitment to global trade in terms of WTO‐plus bilateral FTAs, which intends to support a multilateral trading system, and its overall industrial strategies to raise its competitiveness.

Suggested Citation

  • S. M. Thangavelu & Mun‐Heng Toh, 2005. "Bilateral ‘WTO‐Plus’ Free Trade Agreements: The WTO Trade Policy Review of Singapore 2004," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 28(9), pages 1211-1228, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:bla:worlde:v:28:y:2005:i:9:p:1211-1228
    DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-9701.2005.00731.x
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. John Fernald & Brent Neiman, 2011. "Growth Accounting with Misallocation: Or, Doing Less with More in Singapore," American Economic Journal: Macroeconomics, American Economic Association, vol. 3(2), pages 29-74, April.
    2. Thomas W. Hertel & Terrie Walmsley & Ken Itakura, 2005. "Dynamic Effects Of The "New Age" Free Trade Agreement Between Japan And Singapore," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Philippa Dee & Michael Ferrantino (ed.), Quantitative Methods For Assessing The Effects Of Non-Tariff Measures And Trade Facilitation, chapter 18, pages 483-523, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    3. Thomas W. Hertel & Terrie Walmsley & Ken Itakura, 2005. "Dynamic Effects Of The "New Age" Free Trade Agreement Between Japan And Singapore," World Scientific Book Chapters, in: Philippa Dee & Michael Ferrantino (ed.), Quantitative Methods For Assessing The Effects Of Non-Tariff Measures And Trade Facilitation, chapter 18, pages 483-523, World Scientific Publishing Co. Pte. Ltd..
    4. Andrew Elek, 2003. "Beyond Free Trade Agreements: 21st Century Choices for East Asian Economic Cooperation," Asia Pacific Economic Papers 336, Australia-Japan Research Centre, Crawford School of Public Policy, The Australian National University.
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    Cited by:

    1. Roy, Martin & Marchetti, Juan & Lim, Hoe, 2006. "Services liberalization in the new generation of Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs): How much further than the GATS?," WTO Staff Working Papers ERSD-2006-07, World Trade Organization (WTO), Economic Research and Statistics Division.
    2. Calum Brown & Dave Murray-Rust & Jasper van Vliet & Shah Jamal Alam & Peter H Verburg & Mark D Rounsevell, 2014. "Experiments in Globalisation, Food Security and Land Use Decision Making," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 9(12), pages 1-24, December.
    3. Toh, Mun-Heng, 2012. "Internationalization of Tertiary Education Services in Singapore," ADBI Working Papers 388, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    4. Hsieh, Wen-jen, 2011. "The Global Economic Recession and Industrial Structure: Evidence from Four Asian Dragons," ADBI Working Papers 315, Asian Development Bank Institute.
    5. Shandre M. Thangavelu & Yik Wei Yong & Aekapol Chongvilaivan, 2009. "FDI, Growth and the Asian Financial Crisis: The Experience of Selected Asian Countries," The World Economy, Wiley Blackwell, vol. 32(10), pages 1461-1477, October.

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