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GRP 5 - Noblejas - Keifer Mod 5

The document discusses Japan's regional trade agreements, highlighting its focus on the Asia-Pacific region and efforts to strengthen economic ties with ASEAN countries, China, South Korea, Australia, and the EU. It also outlines the progress of the COMESA trade bloc in Africa, which has established free trade areas and customs unions to facilitate trade and reduce transaction costs. Key learnings emphasize Japan's tariff reduction strategies and the importance of digital trade agreements for data protection and cybersecurity.

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2 views3 pages

GRP 5 - Noblejas - Keifer Mod 5

The document discusses Japan's regional trade agreements, highlighting its focus on the Asia-Pacific region and efforts to strengthen economic ties with ASEAN countries, China, South Korea, Australia, and the EU. It also outlines the progress of the COMESA trade bloc in Africa, which has established free trade areas and customs unions to facilitate trade and reduce transaction costs. Key learnings emphasize Japan's tariff reduction strategies and the importance of digital trade agreements for data protection and cybersecurity.

Uploaded by

keiferachilles.noblejas
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Module 5: Regional Economic Integration

Research Work (Group Work)

Instructions:

Please indicate your group members and work together on this:

1. The World Trade Organization maintains a database of regional trade agreements. You
can search this database to identify all agreements that a specific country participates in.
Search the database to identify the trade agreements that Japan currently participates in.
What patterns do you see? Which region (or regions) of the world does Japan seem to
be focusing on in its trade endeavors?

Japan has several regional trade agreements, including the Regional


Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP), the Indonesia-Japan Economic
Partnership Agreement (IJEPA), and the Japan-Peru Free Trade Agreement
(JPEPA). Japan is currently focusing on trade agreements primarily within the
Asia-Pacific region, particularly with ASEAN (Association of Southeast Asian
Nations) countries, as well as actively pursuing agreements with China, South Korea,
Australia, and the European Union. This shows Japan's interest in strengthening
economic ties within the Indo-Pacific region. Japan's trade agreements primarily
focus on reducing tariffs and increasing market access for goods and services,
particularly in the agricultural sector, while also emphasizing digital trade and high
standards for data protection through agreements like the U.S.-Japan Digital Trade
Agreement. Japan has made trade agreements with The US in October 2019 this is
the Digital Trade Agreement which was implemented on January 1, 2020. This
agreement reduces or eliminates tariffs by the amount of $ 7.2 billion. The US-Japan
agricultural exports ensures that data can be transported across borders without
restrictions, promoting adherence to the principles that address cyber security
challenges. This effective use of encryption technology will boost digital trade. They
are also actively pursuing new free trade agreements to enhance economic security
and resilience in a global trade environment, often targeting strategic partnerships
with regions rich in resources.
2. Your company has assigned you the task of investigating the various trade blocs in Africa
to see if your company can benefit from these trade agreements while expanding into
African markets. The first trade bloc you come across is COMESA. Prepare a short
executive summary for your company, explaining the level of integration the bloc has
currently achieved, the level it aspires to accomplish, and the relationships it has with
other African trade blocs​

COMESA (or the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa) is a prominent
regional economic bloc comprising 21 member states that has been established to
foster economic integration across all over south and eastern africa. This expansion
has yielded significant strides in regional integration such as free trade areas
(initiated on October 31, 2000), and Custom Unions that help organize tariffs and
other commercial policies.(Launched on June 7, 2009). The opportunities that were
yielded on COMESA have been drastic. Such as:​
​ 1, Access to a diverse market with memberships. This provides entry to a
combined market with 500 million more customers.​
​ 2. The facilitation of COMESA has also greatly reduced the burden for trade, by
having lower transaction costs, and simplifying market entry strategies.​
​
Overall, COMESA is a progressive integration effort, and the relationships created by
this Market across african countries. This creates a conducive environment for
businesses to expand upon, leveraging developments and leading to increased
competitiveness with sustainable growth through all of these regions.

KEY LEARNINGS

-​ Japan seems to be focusing on reducing tariffs by making agreements with other


nations. Thus increasing market access to goods and services for their agricultural
sector.
-​ COMESA has progressed a lot in terms of regional integration through the creation of
free trade areas and customs union which enables lower transactions and easier market
access.
-​ Japan’s digital trade agreements, like the US Japan Digital Trade Agreement, prioritizes
data protection and cyber security to ensure seamless cross border data transfers to
enhance digital trade.

REFERENCES

https://www.trade.gov/country-commercial-guides/japan-trade-agreements
https://rtais.wto.org/UI/PublicSearchByCrResult.aspx

https://rtais.wto.org/UI/PublicMaintainRTAHome.aspx

https://crsreports.congress.gov/product/pdf/IF/IF1112

https://eastasiaforum.org/2024/09/03/japans-continuing-zeal-for-free-trade-agreements/

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