Cooperation or Rivalry?: Regional Integration in the Americas and the Pacific Rim

This book examines two opposing interpretations of NAFTAs potential expansion into a Western Hemisphere Free Trade Association (WHFTA)one fearing the creation of a deliberately exclusionary Fortress America, the other welcoming the prospect of substantial economic opportunities for Asia and the countries of the Pacific Rim. Contributors evaluate the commercial, financial, cultural, and political linkages between the Americas and the Pacific Rim, assessing the magnitude of interests that might be affected by NAFTA or FTAA. }Authorities and experts in Japan and other Asian countries have expressed considerable fear that the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) and the proposed Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) will create a Fortress America that will deliberately exclude nations of the Pacific Rim. Others argue that economic integration will provide substantial opportunity for Asia/Pacific countries and thus contribute to the dynamism of the Pacific Century ahead. This book explores the varying interpretations and looks at their implications for countries of the Pacific Rim. Might NAFTA provoke the formation of an economic bloc in the Asia/Pacific area? Or will economic liberalization occur on a global and multilateral scale? What are the political dimensions of these possible options and processes? Examining the interconnections such policy alternatives may have for both the Pacific Rim and Latin America, the contributors evaluate the commercial, financial, cultural, and political linkages between the regions to assess the magnitude of interests that might be affected by NAFTA or FTAA. Assessing the range of policy options available to countries involved, they seek to make an original contribution to the debate about the formation and structure of the post Cold War world order