MAIN MESSAGES

• The Asia-Pacific region buys most of its merchandise imports from the region itself: almost 14% from China, 27% from developing, and 13% from developed Asia-Pacific economies. European Union and the United States jointly supply less than one fourth and the final one fourth of imports comes from the rest of world.
• Amid the rising uncertainties within and outside the region, exports and imports growth will slow down. Export growth in real terms in developing Asia-Pacific region is expected to drop from 6.5% in 2011 to 2% in 2012, while the growth of imports will contract from 9% to 3% during the same period.
• The Asia-Pacific region provides just over one fourth of global commercial services exports. The region’s share is the largest in exports of transportation services, almost 29%. It captures close to 28% of export of travel services and one fourth of exports of other commercial services. Among these, Asia-Pacific exports over half of global construction services.
• Of the world’s 10 largest exporters of travel services, 8 are in the Asia-Pacific region.
• The region as a whole, including developed economies, attracted 33% of global FDI inflows in 2011, a considerable increase from its 18% share in 2005. China is the largest recipient of global FDI flows capturing 25% of inflows to the Asia-Pacific region.
• Developing economies of Asia and the Pacific are emerging as key sources of FDI in the region.
• The average time required to complete trade procedures in the region still stands at three times the OECD average.
• The cost of conducting intraregional trade in goods in Asia and the Pacific remains particularly high, with intraregional trade costs among Central Asian countries up to five times higher than those prevailing among European Union countries.
• Many of the already good performers in trade facilitation have made further progress improving timeliness and overall trade reliability.
• Tariffs have accounted for 14% of total protectionist measures implemented since 2010 in the Asia-Pacific region.
• Measured by number of discriminatory measures per $1 million worth of exports, the LDC countries as a group were targeted 7.5 times more heavily than Asian BRICS countries.
• Asia-Pacific countries continued to expand PTAs network accounting for almost 150 agreements in force.
• Frequently partners come from outside the region and there are only 19 agreements between countries sharing the continental borders.
• Rising giants: two competing initiatives to rationalize and consolidate some of current agreements: Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership and Trans-Pacific Partnership.