This paper argues that the Early Voluntary Sectoral Liberalization (EVSL) offers a number of opportunities in the short-run and, in the long-run need not hinder, but instead promote, globalism. The EVSL can serve as the springboard towards accelerating and enhancing the trade liberalization process and thus improving the country’s general welfare. In this case, the longer-term commitments to the trade and investment facilitation and economic and technical cooperation can be strengthened if major modifications that prevent discriminatory policies are implemented. The EVSL can then be pursued cautiously as long as the necessary changes can be adopted. This paper also provides an overview of APEC’s liberalization program, looks at the partial equilibrium effects of EVSL, shows conditions for and against the EVSL, analyzes the multisectoral or general equilibrium implications of the EVSL, discusses how the EVSL can hinder further liberalization, and presents possible policy modifications that can be made to enhance the use of the EVSL.
