摘要：Abstract The dominant question in trade policy today is how to secure greater trade liberalisation in the Asia Pacific region. Most of the public discussion of this has been based on theoretical, rather than empirical, analyses of the economic conditions to be addressed. In addition, an important aspect of the political economy of trade liberalisation has been neglected. Thinking in Australia about how to promote trade liberalisation in the region has been deficient in as much as its contribution to how public policy makers can meet their political objectives has been restricted primarily to assertions of principles that public policy makers should respect. One is that liberalisation must be across the board. The other is that the liberalising measure must be non-discriminatory. The weakness of this 'monotheistic' approach to trade liberalisation is that it fails to recognise the real limitations and needs for which governments have to cater. As a result proposals for liberalisation which amount to sideplays of only modest significance have been advanced..
