Free Trade 56, Trade, investments and taxes in APEC countries

The Albert Del Rosario Institute (ADRi) has published my new paper, in time for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) Summit this coming November 18-19 here in Manila. My special thanks to ADRi President, Prof. Dindo Manhit.

I put a number of tables in that paper, data sources from the World Bank, UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), World Trade Organization (WTO), Alas Oplas & Co. CPAs (AOC), Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA).

Foreign direct investments (FDI) inward stock is a good indicator of how much FDIs have accumulated in a country net of outflows through time.

FDI net inflows is a better indicator than plain inflows because a country may get huge amount of FDI inflows but also suffering from huge outflows so that the net inflow is actually negative. Like the US, Russia, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, S. Korea and Malaysia, at least for the the years 2012-2014.

 APEC countries are marked red here.

Trade bureaucracies as a form of non-tariff barrier (NTB).

My Concluding notes

1. To have more trade and investments, governments should learn to step back from too many regulations and taxation. 

2. Corporate income and other taxes in the Philippines in particular should decline in the face of rising tax competition among ASEAN countries. 

3. Non-tariff barriers (NTBs) like import licensing and SPS measures should be relaxed and reduced. 

4. Global capitalism is about integration and competition, complementation and substitution, happening simultaneously. 

5. Markets in a competitive environment always result in innovation and business creativity. 

6. Governments should focus on their core and basic function – lay down fair rules for all players, be an impartial judge or referee in cases of disputes, protect private property ownership, enforce the rule of law, contracts between and among people.

The 12-pages paper is also posted in slideshare.

-----------

See also:

Free Trade 52, More on the Gravity model, September 08, 2015

Free Trade 53, TPP "final push" this September + paper by Dr. Clarete, September 19, 2015 

Free Trade 54, Eco-protectionism at APEC 2015 meeting, September 28, 2015 

Free Trade 55, TPP Agreement, finally, October 06, 2015
Business 360 8: TPP, RCEP, SAARC and Free Trade, June 17, 2013 

BWorld 12, Investments, APEC and economic liberalization, July 25, 2015