In GATT negotiations over the past several years the United States, a founding member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, has been pushing hard for a global liberalization of trade in services. This development would have special significance for the Pacific because of the intensifying competition between the United States and Japan for

"This book is the result of a team effort that has brought together researchers from Europe, Japan and North America. Their backgrounds and experience reflect the interdisciplinary scope of the book, which covers economic, political and business aspects of service enterprises and cooperation in the Pacific-Asia region. The idea for this project originated with Gavin Boyd, who approached l'Ecole des Hautes Etudes Commerciales (HEC) in 1990 in order to explore possible avenues of cooperation. HEC's Center for International Business Studies (CETAI), which has a long-standing interest in Asia, agreed to support the project, and the newly created Orner DeSerres Chair of Commerce, also at HEC, accepted to coordinate the project and to provide technical support. Gavin Boyd, Associate Member of CET AI, and Gunnar K. Sletmo, Orner DeSerres Professor of Commerce and Member of CETAI, agreed to serve as coeditors for the book."

In GATT negotiations over the past several years the United States, a founding member of the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum, has been pushing hard for a global liberalization of trade in services. This development would have special significance for the Pacific because of the intensifying competition between the United States and Japan for market shares. A comprehensive analysis of the service sector's role in that dynamic region is offered in this timely volume. Leading experts explore how service enterprises have affected trade in goods and transnational manufacturing, forming a regional pattern of interdependence. The authors assess each service sector from a regional perspective and offer detailed individual country studies as well. The concluding chapters provide a broad overview of corporate strategies, discuss questions of regional cooperation, and identify opportunities for new regional service enterprises.