Since the prosperity and dynamism of Asia heavily depend on an open and liberal trade regime, trade liberalization and its impacts on poverty and environment are very important issues for the region. While poverty has decreased in newly industrialized countries (NIEs), in Southeast Asian countries and China, which have experienced export-led...

Since 1999/2000, the Asia-Pacific region has been experiencing a boom in regional and bilateral free trade agreements, with the result that trade regimes are increasingly taking place in the context of FTAs and regional economic integration. Consequently, many of the key issues in the ever-growing interface between trade and environment have...