| East Asian countries, People's Republic of China, Japan, and Republic of Korea had built a consensus to establish an regional trade agreement, namely East Asian Free Trade Area (EAFTA). The purpose of this paper is to assess an appropriate form of the potential EAFTA that can best serve regional interest of maximizing regional economic gains while maintaining a harmony with the multilateral trade regime. Among the areas of trade, it was found that the trade in goods was an area where the region shared consensus in creating a free trade area. In analyzing an appropriate format of the FTA that is fully compatible with the multilateral trade regime, it was proposed that the RTA to be in form of free trade area, maintain open membership policy, include agricultural products, and operate the regime through direct negotiation process. |
