Trade Liberalization in APEC and Global Value Chain Participation: What Can Value Added Indicators Tell?

Abstract

Global value chains (GVCs) a re an increasingly important driver of world t rade, and they are relevant in analyzing border policies and trade agreements. Combining methods of value added decomposition and a computable general equilibrium model, we show how tariff liberalization in APEC impacts on measures of integration. The trade agreement increases GVC integration worldwide irrespective of membership. The effects differ by type of integration, namely, forward or backward, depending on the source of intermediate inputs, the membership of countries up- and downstream the supply chain, and the border protection in the base. The analysis reveals some limitations of the presented integration measures in a dynamic context. First, value added incorporates income related to policy measures, and decreasing integration can reflect a lower tax burden and a more efficient network. Second, changes do not allow interpreting the size of effects of underlying variables, and similar changes can result from various underlying developments.