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strong>April 8, p7

Over recent years, free trade has become a new trend in Asia. Asian countries have been focusing on ways to expand intra-regional trade that include: the establishment of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) in the form of Free Trade Agreements (FTAs) and Economic Partnership Agreements (EPAs). (By Fithra Faisal Hastiadi, Jakarta)

Your comments:

It’s not an unknown myth, it’s a reality. Trade liberalization, free trade, causes capital to move around the world more easily.

Indonesia is already more expensive then Bangladesh or Myanmar, not to mention Africa. The poor developing countries cannot become richer if not protected or subsidized by the government.

The common agricultural policy of the EU is subsidized by ¤55 billion (US$72 billion) per year. Today all rich countries including the US, the UK, Europe, Korea, Japan, Singapore, became rich through a combination of protectionism and subsidy.

The free trade agreement investment can be the key, indeed, to reducing political tension.

YL Wape