The negotiation and implementation of preferential trade agreements has gained momentum in recent years. Given the range of agreements being simultaneously negotiated and implemented, there is potential for significant, and perhaps unanticipated, interactions between them. In this chapter, a dynamic global trade model is used to focus on illustrative examples from Asia and the Pacific, a region that has been particularly active in pursuing preferential trade agreements. First, the focus is on a number of bilateral “hub-and-spoke” agreements, with China as the “hub”. Then the implications of the “spokes” being joined are considered and the outcomes are compared to a broader Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) liberalization...

(MARKHUB publication)