Free Trade Agreements in the World Trade Organization: The Experience of East Asia and the Japan-Mexico Economic Partnership Agreement

Abstract

The article discusses the role of the Article XXIV of the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) in the free trade agreement (FTA) between East Asia and Japan. FTA tends to raise disputes on the GATT and the World Trade Organization (WTO) framework's applicability to Japan-Mexico Environmental Protection Agencies (EPAs) and others. It also emphasizes the misalignment of the legal requirements and economic rationale of the Article XXIV which affect FTA and EPAs.