동아시아 지역주의 현황과 시사점

Progress of East Asian Economic Integration and Policy Implications

Although East Asia has been regarded as one of the three pillars of the world economy, the progress of economic integration in the region has been slow, unlike the progress in North America and Europe. In East Asia, functional integration through expanded trade and investment throughout the region has been considerably progressing. Political leaders in East Asia began to discuss how to achieve closer economic relations via the process of ASEAN+3 When a pan-regional economic bloc is established in East Asia, the world economy can be reorganized into a three-pole economic system made up roughly of the EU, America, and East Asia. This paper analyzes economic relations in East Asia and discusses current progress of FTAs in the region, followed by the review of the progress of the East Asian FTA, and policy implications for building the FTA.