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CHAPTER 1. INTEGRATION IS THE ESSENCEBACKGROUNDAND STAGESDEVELOPMENT

1.1 Concept, essence and principles of integration

Integration (from Latin integratio - “connection”) is the process of combining some parts into a single whole. The term is used in a wide variety of activities: from the exact sciences to socio-political areas.

At present, we can talk about political (harmonization (family relations, labor migration, etc.); production (industrial, transport, energy aspects); economic (free trade zone, customs union, tariffs, labor market, etc.); financial ( investment climate, capital market, etc.), ensuring security (fighting organized crime, military-technical cooperation, combating terrorism, joint border protection), cultural (language space, cultural exchange), scientific and educational integration. Russia and Abroad" No. 2, 2008. -

In relation to the analysis of economic phenomena, the concept of “integration” began to be widely used in the second half of the 20th century, reflecting the process of economic integration that was already underway in Western Europe. Khasbulatov R. I. World Economy, 2013. - P. 703 Unlike the natural sciences, where integration as the end result leads to the formation of a new entity in place of the disappearing or transforming "old", economic integration, as one of the social types of integration, does not lead to "dissolution" of parts in a new single whole.

Economic integration is a process of mutual convergence of the economic structures of countries through the interweaving of production, economic, financial, labor and other ties. Khasbulatov R. I. World economy, 2013. - P. 704

At the interstate level, integration occurs through the formation of regional economic associations of states and the coordination of their domestic and foreign economic policies. The interaction and mutual adaptation of national economies is manifested, first of all, in the gradual creation of a "common market" - in the liberalization of the conditions for the exchange of goods and the movement of production resources (capital, labor, information) between countries.

Economic integration is hard historical phenomenon, which in each case has its own distinctive features, features. However, the essence of this phenomenon is the formation of a community as a result of certain targeted actions of states that proclaim their goals:

1. establishment of an economic group;

2. creation of favorable conditions for the economic convergence of countries;

3. not only the definition of common goals and objectives, but also the development of detailed plans for the staged construction of an integrated group, the establishment of criteria for the general foundations of economic, budgetary, tax, trade, and investment policies aimed at achieving specific social goals of society.

The process of integration, like any economic process, must be based on the basic rules recognized as such by virtue of the fact that they are consistently repeated in a mass of cases. Based on this, unconditional principles of economic integration are distinguished:

· the principle of economic feasibility and scientific validity of the creation of a new united structure. This principle means that when forming an integrated association, preliminary work is necessary to determine the future economic effect of such an association, based on the use of scientific assessment approaches;

· the principle of socio-economic orientation of the activities of the new united structure. This principle implies that the structure, while implementing its own goals, must simultaneously participate in the implementation of regional economic and social programs, contributing to solving the problems of employment and increasing the income of the population;

· the principle of democracy of the entry of the subject into a new united structure means that the collective activity of the uniting entities must be ensured by certain rights of all participants. The formation of integrated systems requires the fulfillment of conditions that are primarily determined by the need to achieve the goal of the merging enterprises, which follows from the provision of relatively equal economic conditions for the participants in the process and the coordinated development of all technological links in the production of the final product;

the principle of ensuring the mutual interest of the participants in an integrated association is that its activities cannot realize the goals of only one entity, excluding the interests of another, since in this case the principle of democracy will be violated;

· the principle of exclusion of economically unjustified intermediaries between partners. The essence of this principle lies in the fact that the purpose of an integrated association is to deepen the interaction between the participants in order to strengthen their ties. Therefore, any person acting as an intermediary will violate the coherence of the subjects and thus violate the purpose of creating an integrated association;

· the principle of non-admission of the monopoly position of the united structure in the market. This principle follows from the objective requirement of the market, which, as a rule, has a legal basis in the form of legislation aimed at combating monopolies.

The main features of integration are:

Interpenetration and interweaving of national production processes;

· Structural changes in the economies of the participating countries;

· Necessity and purposeful regulation of integration processes.

The development of economic integration is manifested in several levels. Integration at the local level takes place within one microeconomic unit. At the micro level, it manifests itself through the interaction of the capital of individual firms, enterprises through the formation of economic agreements between them, the creation of branches abroad. At the regional level - in the form of a complex of interacting subjects in a certain region within the state. At the national level, it manifests itself through the interaction of sectors of several regional complexes within the state. At the meso-regional level - in the form of interacting sectors of regional complexes within several border states. At the macro level - the interaction of national complexes in a certain region of the planet. At the mega level, it is carried out on the basis of unification on the scale of the global economic space.

Along with all economic phenomena, international economic integration allows countries to receive certain advantages and disadvantages.

By joining economic integration, a country can get the following benefits:

· wide access to resources: financial, material, labor, technologies throughout the region, as well as the ability to produce products based on the market of the entire integration group;

· economic rapprochement of the countries creates privileged conditions for firms of the countries - participants of integration, protecting them from a competition from firms of the third countries;

· the deepening of the international division of labor (MRT) contributes to the reduction of product costs and ensures economic efficiency;

· the expansion of the economic space between the enterprises of the merging countries, the strengthening of competition, which stimulates them and leads to an increase in production efficiency;

creation of a more stable situation for the development of mutual trade, as well as speeches on behalf of the bloc are more weighty and give top scores in the field of international trade policy;

opportunity to take advantage national economies to expand the scope of the sales market, to support their producers, to reduce interstate trade costs;

· creating a favorable foreign policy environment, strengthening cooperation between countries not only in the economic, but also in the political, cultural and other fields.

The negative consequences for countries that have entered into economic integration are as follows:

For more backward countries, this leads to an outflow of resources (factors of production), there is a redistribution in favor of stronger competitors;

· oligopolistic conspiracy of TNCs of the participating countries, which contributes to higher prices;

The effect of losses from increasing the scale of production.

Thus, integration is a process of mutual convergence of the economic structures of countries through the interweaving of production, economic, financial, labor and other ties, its essence is the formation of a community as a result of certain targeted actions of states. Having certain principles, integration processes contribute to the fact that certain groups of countries form for themselves more favorable conditions for trade, for the movement of capital and labor than for all other countries. At the same time, the countries belonging to a certain integration grouping should have approximately the same level of development, and the states should, to one degree or another, protect their citizens and the oligopolistic conspiracies of the TNCs of the participating countries.

1.2 Prerequisites for integration

Since the second half of the 20th century, due to the rapid economic development leading industrial countries and the improvement of the means of international transport and communications, there was a rapid development of international trade in goods and services. International trade has become more and more various forms the international movement of factors of production (capital, labor and technology), as a result of which not only finished goods began to move abroad, but also the factors of its production. The profit contained in the price of the goods began to be created not only within national borders, but also abroad. The natural result of the development of international trade in goods and services and the international movement of factors of production was economic integration.

Integration processes lead to the development of economic regionalism, as a result of which certain groups of countries create among themselves more favorable conditions for trade, and in some cases for interregional movement of factors of production, than for all other countries. But economic regionalism, while simplifying economic relations between countries of the same group, should not lead to their complication with all other countries. As long as regionalism, at least, does not worsen the conditions for trade with the rest of the world, it can be considered a positive factor in the development of the international economy.

The following integration prerequisites are distinguished:

· Approximately the same level of socio-economic development and the degree of market maturity of the merging countries. With rare exceptions, interstate integration develops either between industrial countries or between developing countries. Even within the framework of industrial and developing countries, integration processes are most active between states that are at approximately the same level of economic development. Attempts at integration-type associations between industrialized and developing states usually begin with various kinds of transitional agreements on association, special partnership, etc., the validity of which stretches for many years until the less developed country creates market mechanisms comparable in maturity to the mechanisms of more developed countries.

· The geographical location of countries, the presence in most cases of a common border and historically established economic ties. Most integration associations of the world began with several neighboring countries located on the same continent, in close geographical proximity to each other, having transport communications and often speaking the same language. Other neighboring states were connected to the initial group of countries - the integration core, which became the initiators of the integration association.

· Commonality of economic and other problems facing countries in the field of development, financing, economic regulation, political cooperation, etc. Economic integration is designed to solve a set of specific problems that are really facing the integrating countries. It is therefore obvious that, for example, countries the main problem which lay the foundations market economy, cannot integrate with states in which the development of the market has reached such a level that it requires the introduction of a common currency. Also, countries whose main problem is to provide the population with water and food cannot be combined with states discussing the problems of free movement of capital between states.

Demonstration effect. In countries that have created integration associations, positive economic shifts usually occur, which has a certain psychological impact to other countries, which, of course, follow the ongoing changes.

· "Domino effect". After the majority of the countries of a particular region have become members of an integration association, the remaining countries that remain outside it inevitably experience some difficulties associated with the reorientation of the economic ties of the countries included in the grouping towards each other. This often even leads to a reduction in trade of countries outside the integration. Some of them, even without having a significant primary interest in integration, express an interest in joining integration processes simply because of the fear of being left outside.

The most significant prerequisites for integration are considered to be approximately the same level of development of countries, the presence of common borders, indicating stable ties between peoples that have developed over a number of years, and the presence of certain internal problems which can only be resolved through joint efforts.

1.3 Stages of integration development

The Hungarian economist Bela Balassa identified five stages that any integration association must go through in its development. This scheme was adopted by various international economic organizations and has become a classic scheme of stages in the development of integration groups. According to it, integration involves the elimination of discrimination and consists of the following forms:

1) free trade zone - a zone free from customs, quantitative and other restrictions through the gradual abolition of customs duties. There is a liberalization of international trade, simplification of the movement of goods. Negative consequences- unfavorable effect of imported goods, non-competitiveness of the domestic market, etc.

Within the framework of a free trade zone, countries waive customs restrictions only in relations with their partners in an integration association, while maintaining their economic sovereignty, each participant in a free trade zone establishes its own external tariffs in trade with countries not participating in this integration association. Usually the creation of a free trade area begins with bilateral agreements between two closely cooperating countries, which are then joined by new partner countries;

2) the customs union implies the abolition of customs duties in trade, the unification of external tariffs, the implementation of a single foreign trade policy - the members of the union jointly establish a single tariff barrier against third countries. When customs tariffs for third countries are different, this enables firms from countries outside the free trade zone to penetrate through the weakened border of one of the participating countries to the markets of all countries of the economic bloc. The unification of external tariffs makes it possible to more reliably protect the emerging single regional market space and act on the international arena as a cohesive trading bloc. This leads to the rationalization of production and the creation of stability within the union itself. There is a growing need for the creation of supranational bodies. But at the same time, the countries participating in this integration association lose part of their foreign economic sovereignty. Since the creation of a customs union requires significant efforts to coordinate economic policy, not all free trade areas "grow" to the customs union.

The first customs unions appeared in the 19th century. (for example, the German customs union, Zollverein, which united a number of German states in 1834-1871), more than 15 customs unions functioned on the eve of World War II. But since then the role of the world economy in comparison with the domestic economy was small, these customs unions were of no particular importance and did not pretend to be transformed into something else. The "era of integration" began in the 1950s, when the rapid growth of integration processes became a natural manifestation of globalization - the gradual "dissolution" of national economies in the world economy. Now the customs union is not seen as an end result, but only as an intermediate phase of economic cooperation between partner countries.

3) a single common market implies the minimization of internal duties, the elimination of restrictions on the movement from country to country of various factors of production - investments (capitals), workers, information (patents and know-how). This strengthens the economic interdependence of the countries - members of the integration association. Freedom of movement of resources requires a high organizational level of interstate coordination. That is, the single market involves the solution of five tasks:

abolition of customs duties between Member States;

· development of a common trade policy in relation to third countries;

· development of a common policy for the development of priority industries and sectors of the economy;

creation of conditions for the free movement of goods, services, capital, labor and information;

Formation of general funds for the promotion of social and regional development.

But the common market is not the final stage of integration development. For the formation of a single market space, freedom of movement of goods, services, capital and labor across the borders of states is not enough. In order to complete economic unification, it is also necessary to equalize tax levels, unify economic legislation, technical and sanitary standards, and coordinate national credit and financial structures and social protection systems. The implementation of these measures leads, finally, to the creation of a truly single regional market of economically united countries, and the next point is economic union.

4) economic union involves the joint determination of the economic policy of the member countries, the implementation of a unified policy for the development of individual sectors of the economy. Supranational bodies are being created, the laws of which are binding on all member countries. On the this stage there is a unification of credit, tax, social policy;

5) economic and monetary union provides for a single monetary policy, the introduction of a single currency, the creation of a new central bank. The single currency is introduced solely for the purpose of facilitating mutual settlements in international trade transactions, so this stage of integration is considered optional;

6) a political union implies a coordinated foreign policy, coordination of actions in the field of security, internal affairs and justice. common factor for all levels is the abolition of economic barriers.

Only the EU has passed all the stages of integration development, the rest of the integration formations have passed the first, partially the second levels.

At the same time, the statistical effects of integration are:

- “trade creation”, when, as a result of the creation of a free trade area and a customs union, an expensive domestic product is replaced by cheaper imports;

- “trade diversion”, if cheaper imports from third countries are replaced by more expensive imports from a partner country.

Thus, according to B. Balassa, any integration association in its development must go through such stages as a free trade zone, a customs union, a single market, an economic and monetary union, and a political union. At present, only the European Union is such an integration grouping, while the rest of the associations have passed the first, partially second levels.

GCHAPTER 2. PERFORMANCE ANALYSISASIA INTEGRATION GROUPINGS

2.1 Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperationdifficultin (APEC) as one of the main integration associations of the Asia-Pacific region

Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is an international forum created for cooperation between the countries of the Asia-Pacific region in the field of regional trade and investment liberalization. The goal of APEC is to increase economic growth and prosperity in the region, and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community.

The association was formed in 1989 in the city of Canberra at the initiative of the prime ministers of Australia and New Zealand. APEC is formed as a free consultative forum without any rigid organizational structure or large bureaucracy. The APEC Secretariat, located in Singapore, includes only 23 diplomats representing the APEC member countries, as well as 20 local employees.

In 1994, the creation by 2020 in the Asia-Pacific region of a system of free and open trade and a liberal investment regime was announced as a strategic goal. The most advanced economies should liberalize by 2010. In 1995, more than ten priority areas APEC activities: trade tariffs, non-tariff methods of regulating mutual trade, international services, international investment, standardization of goods and services, customs procedures, intellectual property rights, competition policy, distribution of government orders, rules regarding the origin of goods, mediation in disputes, business mobility, collection and analysis of information.

The main principles of functioning within the framework of APEC are:

1. Trade and investment liberalization. This principle is implemented on the basis of unilateral liberalization, meaning that each APEC member voluntarily agrees to liberalization in a certain area of trade and investment. APEC has developed a basic tool for implementing this basic principle - individual action plans. All APEC countries should prepare such a plan and update it regularly;

2. Trade facilitation. Aims to make doing business in the region easier and less expensive;

3. Economic and technical cooperation. The goals are to achieve substantial growth and equitable development within APEC, improve the economic and social well-being of people, and deepen the spirit of community in APEC.

Initially, the forum included 12 countries - 6 developed states of the Pacific basin (Australia, Canada, New Zealand, USA, South Korea, Japan) and 6 developing states of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines ). By 1997, APEC included almost all the main countries of the Pacific region: Hong Kong (1993), China (1993), Mexico (1994), Papua New Guinea (1994), Taiwan (1993), Chile (1995) became new members. In 1998, simultaneously with the admission of three new members to APEC - Russia, Vietnam and Peru - a 10-year moratorium was introduced on further expansion of the membership of the Forum. India and Mongolia have applied for APEC membership. integration economic regionalism unifying

The criterion for membership is that a member is a separate economy, not a country, as APEC uses the term member economy, not member country. APEC includes economies with very different levels of economic development (Appendix 1). APEC member economies are: Australia, Brunei, Canada, Indonesia, Japan, Republic of Korea, Malaysia, New Zealand, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, USA, Chinese Taipei (Taiwan), Hong Kong (China), People's Republic of China, Mexico, Papua -- New Guinea, Chile, Peru, Russia, Vietnam.

The participating economies are home to about 40% of the world's population, they account for approximately 57% of the GDP and 47% of world trade.

Table 1 Aggregate Gross Product of APEC Member Countries*

	GDP, (million USD)	Base growth rate, (%)	Chain growth rates, (%)





Average annual growth rate

The total gross product of the APEC countries in 2013 is 42,760,622.3 million US dollars (57% of the GMP). The growth rate by 2009 averaged 124.06%. And chain growth rates show that in the period 2009-2013. the total gross product increased by an average of 107%, but it should be noted that if in 2010 the growth rate was 111.07%, then in 2013. it was only 102.22%.

The successful indicators of APEC economic development contributed to the growth of economic interdependence between the countries of the region through the growth of foreign trade. The strengthening of interdependence in the foreign trade sphere occurs, firstly, at the level of the largest sub-regions of the Asia-Pacific region ( East Asia and Oceania, on the one hand, and North and South America, on the other), and secondly, the share of mutual trade between countries within these two large subregions is also growing.

table 2 The volume of foreign trade of the APEC member countries*

Export, (billion US dollars)	Base growth rate, (%)	Chain growth rates, (%)	Import, (billion US dollars)	Base growth rate, (%)	Chain growth rates, (%)

The volume of foreign trade of the APEC member countries over the past 5 years has increased exports by 154.9%, and imports by 159.5%. But it should be noted that every year the growth rate of foreign trade is declining, if the increase in exports in 2010 was 25.7%, in 2011 - 16.3%, then in 2012-2013. it was only 2-3%. The growth rate of imports also tends to decrease, if in 2010 the growth rate of imports amounted to 26.2%, then after 3 years they are equal to 2.2%.

Table 3 Dynamics of the share of intra-regional exports in total exports of APEC member countries*

* Calculations are made independently according to the data

If in the early 1980s Since the share of intra-regional exports was about 60% of the total exports, over the past 5 years it has amounted to about 70%. Over the past 5 years, this indicator has increased annually by 1-2%, so in 2009 the share of participating countries accounted for 68.9%, in 2010 - 70.2%, and in 2013 the share was 72.2 %, this was facilitated by the reduction of non-tariff and tariff barriers (Table 4).

Table 4 Dynamics of average rates of customs duties and non-tariff barriers in APEC member countries*

At present, the APEC forum has begun to be perceived as an organization that regulates fair economic cooperation. The APEC members took it upon themselves to develop new rules for international economic cooperation, which implied a new, outside the political framework, perception of the realities that had taken shape in the Asia-Pacific region.

APEC, working in close contact with the business community of the Asia-Pacific countries, determines the main directions and areas of economic cooperation in the region in the 19th century and promotes private capital as the main driving force of regional economic development. In general, one can say that all APEC activities are aimed at identifying possible obstacles to trade and investment flows in close contact with the business community, and in the future - to eliminate these barriers. All this should contribute to ensuring the minimum expenditure of time, money and effort in the implementation of economic transactions.

APEC makes up almost half of the world economy. At the beginning of the 21st century, the countries of the forum accounted for 40% of the world's population and 47% of world trade, and the total gross product today is about 57% of the global indicators.

Although APEC is a young economic integration bloc, it has become an important vehicle for promoting trade and economic cooperation in the region. And the high rates of economic development, the growing intra-regional flows of goods, services, and capital give grounds for the conclusion that in the 21st century APEC will become the core of the world's economic growth.

2.2 Functioning of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations is a political, economic and cultural regional intergovernmental organization of countries located in Southeast Asia. ASEAN was formed on August 8, 1967 in Bangkok with the signing of the "ASEAN Declaration", better known as the "Bangkok Declaration". The formalization of ASEAN took place only in 1976 in the Treaty of Friendship and Cooperation in Southeast Asia and the ASEAN Declaration of Consent signed on the island of Bali.

The immediate constituent states were Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and the Philippines. Later, Brunei Darussalam (01/07/1984), Vietnam (07/28/1995), Laos and Myanmar (07/23/1997), Cambodia (04/30/1999) joined. Currently, Papua New Guinea and East Timor have special observer status.

In accordance with the Bangkok Declaration, the objectives of the organization are:

· establishment of peace and stability in the region through adherence to the principles of the UN Charter;

· accelerating the economic, social and cultural development of its member states on the basis of cooperation and mutual assistance;

· maintenance of mutually beneficial cooperation with general and regional international organizations having similar goals.

The supreme body of ASEAN is the meetings of heads of state and government. The guiding and coordinating mechanism is regular meetings of foreign ministers. The current management of the activities of the Association is carried out by the Standing Committee, headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the country - the current chairman of ASEAN, who are replaced in alphabetical order (currently - Thailand). The ASEAN Secretariat operates in Jakarta, headed by General Secretary. General Secretary ASEAN is appointed for a term of five years.

There are 11 specialized committees in ASEAN, more than 300 events are held annually, including meetings of ministers of economy and trade, heads of law enforcement agencies, etc.

The ASEAN Ministerial Conferences are held annually and serve as a forum for the exchange of views on security issues in the Asia-Pacific region between ASEAN and its dialogue partners (Australia, Canada, the European Union, Japan, New Zealand, South Korea and the United States of America).

Economic cooperation within ASEAN is concentrated mainly in the field of trade and is aimed at creating a free trade area. The decision on the free trade area (AFTA) was made at the 4th summit of the Association in 1992 in Singapore. It was seen as an important step in deepening regional cooperation, the initial stage on the path of economic integration in the likeness of the European Union (the main initiators of AFTA were Singapore and Malaysia, which had the most developed trade ties in the region).

Table 5 Key Features of ASEAN*

Indicators

Population, (thousand people)
Aggregate gross product, (million US dollars)
Base GDP growth rate, (%)
Chain GDP growth rates, (%)
Foreign trade turnover, (mln USD)

				1 240 388 *

*calculations are made independently according to the data

The population of the ASEAN member countries in 2013 was 625 million people, the total area is 4.4 million km2, their total GDP reaches about 2300 billion US dollars.

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1) The simplest and most common form of economic integration is free trade area (FTA) within the framework of which trade restrictions between the participating countries, and above all customs duties, are abolished.

The creation of free trade zones enhances competition in the domestic market between national and foreign manufacturers of goods, which, on the one hand, increases the risk of bankruptcy, and on the other hand, is an incentive to improve production and introduce innovations. The abolition of customs duties and non-tariff restrictions generally applies to industrial goods; for agricultural commodities, import liberalization has been limited. This was characteristic of the EU and is now being observed in the North American region and Latin America.

Examples of an FTA: a) European Free Trade Association - EFTA, 1960, uniting Switzerland, Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway; b) Baltic Free Trade Zone, 1993, uniting Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania; c) North American Free Trade Area, NAFTA, 1994, uniting the USA, Canada, Mexico; d) Organization of Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation, APEC, 1989, uniting 21 member countries of Asia, North and South America(Russia has been a member of APEC since 1997).

2) Another form - c u m m a implies, along with the functioning of the free trade zone, the establishment of a single foreign trade tariff and the implementation of a single foreign trade policy in relation to third countries.

In both cases, interstate relations concern only the sphere of exchange in order to provide the participating countries with equal opportunities in the development of mutual trade and financial settlements.

Customs Union (CU) often supplemented payment union, ensuring the mutual convertibility of currencies and the functioning of a single settlement currency.

Examples of TC: a) Association of the EU with Turkey, 1963; b) Arab Common Market, 1964, uniting Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Libya, Mauritania, Syria, Yemen; c) Russia has a customs union with Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Belarus.

3) More complex shape is gen eral market (OR), which is designed to provide its participants, along with free mutual trade and a common foreign trade tariff, freedom of movement of capital and labor, as well as the coordination of economic policy.

With the functioning of the single market, common funds for promoting social and regional development are being formed, supranational management and control bodies are being created, the legal system is being improved, i.e. a single economic, legal, and information space is emerging.

Examples: a) Gulf Cooperation Council, 1981, uniting Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE; b) Andean Common Market, 1990, uniting Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Venezuela; c) Association of Southeast Asian Nations, ASEAN, 1967, Indonesia, Philippines, Brunei, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam.

4) The highest form of interstate economic integration is economic and monetary union (EMU), combining all the indicated forms of integration with the implementation of a common economic and monetary policy: This union takes place only in Western Europe. Only here the process of economic integration passed all the indicated stages.

Examples: a) European Economic Community, 1957, later - the European Union (since 1993), uniting 15 countries, in 2003 another 10 states joined the EU; b) Economic Union - Benelux, 1948, uniting Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg; c) The Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS), 1992, uniting 12 former republics of the USSR (however, the CIS is largely a formal association, in fact it is not).

5) Political union- along with functions EMU a transition is being made to a common security policy, a unified structure of justice and internal affairs, and a single citizenship is being introduced.

Benefits of economic integration:

1. Increasing the size of the market - action through the scale of production (for countries with a small capacity of the national market), on this basis, it is necessary to determine the optimal size of the enterprise.

2. The struggle between countries is growing.

3.Security better conditions trade.

4.Expansion of trade in parallel with the improvement of infrastructure.

5. Distribution of new technologies.

Disadvantages of economic integration:

1. For more backward countries, integration leads to an outflow of resources (factors of production), there is a redistribution in favor of stronger partners.

2. Oligopolistic collusion between TNCs of the participating countries, which leads to higher prices.

3. The effect of losses from increasing the scale of production at a very strong concentration.

24.2. Stages of integration

At the first stage of integration, preferential trade agreements are concluded between countries. According to them, countries provide more favorable treatment to each other than to third countries. Preferential trade agreements can be viewed not as a starting point, but as a preparatory stage integration process.
At the second stage of integration, the countries are moving to the creation of a free trade zone, which provides for the complete abolition of customs tariffs in mutual trade while maintaining national customs tariffs for third countries. A free trade zone can be coordinated by a small interstate secretariat.
The third stage of integration is associated with the formation of a customs union - the agreed abolition of national customs tariffs and the introduction of a common customs tariff and unified system non-tariff regulation trade with third countries. The customs union provides for duty-free intra-integration trade in goods and services and complete freedom of their movement within the region.
The fourth stage of integration is the creation of a common market. The integrating countries agree on the freedom of movement not only of goods and services, but also of the factors of production - capital and labor. The freedom of interstate movement of factors of production requires interstate coordination of economic policy. Within the EU, the coordinating bodies are the European Council of Heads of State and Government, the EU Council of Ministers, and the EU Secretariat.
The fifth stage of integration is an economic union, which, along with a common customs tariff and freedom of movement of goods, services and factors of production, provides for the coordination of macroeconomic policy and the unification of legislation in key areas - currency, budget, and money. At this stage, there is a need for bodies empowered to make operational decisions on behalf of the group as a whole. Within the EU, this body is the EU Commission (ECE).
The sixth stage of integration is a political union that provides for the transfer national governments most of its functions in relations with third countries to supranational authorities. This means the creation of an international conference and the loss of sovereignty by individual states.
The criteria for evaluating an integration grouping in terms of compliance with the interests of the international economy as a whole are as follows:
. regional trade agreements should cover all sectors of the economy without exception;
. the transition period should not exceed 10 years and include a clear timetable for trade liberalization in individual sectors;
. MFN trade liberalization should precede or accompany the formation of any new integration grouping;
. the common customs tariff introduced within the framework of the customs union should not exceed the lowest tariff that existed in the country with the lowest tariff in the relevant industry, or even the lowest tariff under the most favored nation regime;
. the rules for admitting new members to integration associations must be liberal and not hinder their expansion;
. the rules for determining the country of origin of goods should be transparent and not be an instrument of protectionism within the group;
. there is a need for a rapid transition to the most developed forms of integration, which are preferable to less developed ones, since they provide a more rational distribution and use of production factors;
. after the creation of an integration grouping, anti-dumping rules should no longer be applied in relations between its members, and clear rules for their application should be established in relations with third countries.
The formation of the theory of economic integration, in particular customs unions, is associated with the name of the Canadian scientist Jacob Weiner. In accordance with the theory of the Weiner customs union, as a result of its creation, two types of effects arise in the economy:
. static effects - economic consequences that appear immediately after the creation of the customs union as its direct result;
. dynamic effects - economic consequences that manifest themselves in the later stages of the functioning of the customs union. Among the static effects highest value have trade creation and trade deflection effects.
Creation of trade - reorientation of local consumers from a less efficient domestic source of supply of goods to a more efficient one external source(import), which became possible as a result of the elimination of import duties within the framework of the customs union.
Trade diversion is the reorientation of local consumers from purchasing goods from a more efficient non-integration source of supply to a less efficient intra-integration source, which occurred as a result of the elimination of import duties within the framework of the customs union.
European Union. A feature of integration in Europe is the comparative homogeneity of economic conditions and the similarity of political regimes at the initial stage in countries that have embarked on the path of creating a common market, a long historical experience of mutual economic ties, European cultural and religious traditions.
Integration in Europe has reached the most high level- economic union. From the initial core, which united the markets of six countries in 1957, it has grown into a deeply integrated European Union, which now includes 15 countries and which tends to expand further.
The European Union is undergoing a difficult process of deepening integration, while at the same time moving towards enlargement of the EU through the entry of new members. These two processes contradict each other. While the deepening of integration presupposes the achievement by countries of an appropriate degree of maturity, the entry of new members puts the union in front of the need to compare the pace of movement not according to the leaders of the integration process, but according to newcomers.
NAPHTHA. The agreement on the creation of the North American Free Trade Area came into force on January 1, 1994, consisting of three countries - the USA, Canada, and Mexico. North American integration, unlike the EU, is characterized by an asymmetric interdependence of the US, Canada, and Mexico, due to the superior position of the US in the region's economy and, at the same time, weak economic interaction between Canada and Mexico. North America showed an example of integration, the interstate regulation of which for a long time took place in working order, without the creation of special supranational bodies and the conclusion of intergovernmental agreements. The main process within the framework of NAFTA will be the deepening of cooperation between the three members of the group and the adaptation of Mexico and Canada to the new conditions of interaction that are opening up thanks to the creation of a free trade zone.
This association has led to the formation of a vast market, the removal of barriers to mutual trade, the provision of equal conditions for investment, the guarantee of legal protection for commercial structures, the establishment of proper arbitration mechanisms, the promotion of trilateral and multilateral cooperation, etc.
At the same time, the creation of NAFTA gave rise to a number of problems. The opening of new markets holds back the renewal of US industry, making it possible for those industries and companies that do not meet advanced requirements to maintain or expand production. Big problems for employees in the US and Canada are associated with an increase in the supply of cheap labor from Mexico. Providing Mexico with benefits provided by NAFTA membership indirectly strengthens the position of companies operating in this country associated with the capital of Germany, Japan and other US competitors, providing them with more favorable conditions for expanding their activities in the US market.
APEC. It arose in 1989, initially as a forum for the exchange of views on topical economic problems relating to the Asia-Pacific region. APEC includes both developed and developing countries, between which there are many differences. APEC is new form integration, which can become an example of effective interaction between countries at different levels of development that do not have common borders, but are linked by common interests.
Developed countries, especially the US and Japan, serve as the main engines of growth and progress, sources of capital and new technologies. In this role in everything more some developing countries also speak - South Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, etc. China occupies a special place with its potentially huge market, which attracts all other participants with extensive opportunities.
The development of APEC will make it possible to give energy to growth and movement towards progress not only directly to those countries that are members of this group, but also to other countries involved in this process through membership in other groups. The example of the participation of one integration in another integration, which is demonstrated by APEC, which includes all ASEAN member countries, indicates that conditions have developed in the modern world for the creation of integration associations of a new type. They are becoming a multi-layered structure that allows countries of various levels to actively interact and at the same time to join the movement towards economic growth for developing countries for which direct participation in integration like the EU or NAFTA is still impossible due to the large gap between them and world leaders.
The integration lessons for the Commonwealth of Independent States are as follows:
. the process of integration of independent states requires a consistent passage through all stages of the integration process without "jumping" through the steps of integration, until the goals of this association are achieved;
. there must be a certain period of time between the individual stages of the integration process. As practice shows, the easiest way is to create an integration association up to the level of a customs union, and then coordinate the interests of member countries for a long period;
. moving to higher levels of integration is impossible without achieving a certain level of economic development of the integrating countries without unidirectional economic transformations;
. it is necessary to create a common legal framework for integrating countries, namely: convergence of customs laws, elimination of administrative and fiscal obstacles that hinder normal functioning integration association;
. it is necessary to indicate in interstate agreements which areas of foreign economic policy are exclusively in supranational competence, and in which cases the participating states can make independent decisions.

CONTROL QUESTIONS AND TASKS

1. Name the essence, prerequisites, goals and internal logic of the integration process.
2. Give examples of integration groupings in various parts of the world that aim to create a free trade zone, a customs union, a common market, an economic union.
3. What types of economic effects does the creation of a customs union give?
4. Due to what regularities does integration in most cases lead to a general increase in the welfare of the countries participating in it?
5. Is the following statement true: the gain of a small country from integration with a large country is greater than that of a large country?
6. Since 1994, an agreement on free trade between the United States, Canada and Mexico has come into force. To what consequences did it lead the USA, Canada, Mexico, European countries?
7. Name the pros and cons of the customs union of Russia and Belarus for these countries and other CIS countries, show the prospects for further integration processes within the CIS.

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Integration- (lat. integratio - restoration, replenishment) - the process of mutual adaptation and unification into a single whole of organizations, industries, regions or countries, etc.; an association economic entities, deepening their interaction, developing links between them. Economic integration takes place both at the level of national economies of entire countries, and between enterprises, firms, companies, corporations.

Economic integration is manifested both in the expansion and deepening of production and technological ties, the sharing of resources, the pooling of capital, and in the creation of favorable conditions for each other to carry out economic activities, the removal of mutual barriers.

Stages of integration

At the first stage of integration between countries, preferential trade agreements. According to them, countries provide more favorable treatment to each other than to third countries. Preferential trade agreements can be viewed not as an initial, but as a preparatory stage of the integration process.

At the second stage of integration, countries move on to the creation free trade zones, providing for the complete abolition of customs tariffs in mutual trade while maintaining national customs tariffs in relation to third countries. A free trade zone can be coordinated by a small interstate secretariat.

The third stage of integration is related to education customs union- the agreed abolition of national customs tariffs and the introduction of a common customs tariff and a unified system of non-tariff regulation of trade in relation to third countries. The Customs Union provides for duty-free intra-integration trade in goods and services and complete freedom of their movement within the region.

The fourth stage of integration - creation of a common market. The integrating countries agree on the freedom of movement not only of goods and services, but also of the factors of production - capital and labor. The freedom of interstate movement of factors of production requires interstate coordination of economic policy. Within the EU, the coordinating bodies are the European Council of Heads of State and Government, the EU Council of Ministers, and the EU Secretariat.

Fifth stage of integration - economic union, which provides, along with a common customs tariff and freedom of movement of goods, services and factors of production, the coordination of macroeconomic policy and the unification of legislation in key areas - currency, budget, and money.

At this stage, there is a need for bodies empowered to make operational decisions on behalf of the group as a whole.

The sixth stage of integration - political union, providing for the transfer by national governments of most of their functions in relations with third countries to supranational bodies. This means the creation of an international conference and the loss of sovereignty by individual states.

1) free trade zone - a zone free from customs, quantitative and other restrictions through the gradual abolition of customs duties. There is a liberalization of international trade, simplification of the movement of goods. Negative consequences - the adverse effect of imported goods, the lack of competitiveness of the domestic market, etc.

3) a single common market implies the minimization of internal duties, the elimination of restrictions on the movement from country to country of various factors of production - investments (capitals), workers, information (patents and know-how). This strengthens the economic interdependence of the countries - members of the integration association. Freedom of movement of resources requires a high organizational level of interstate coordination. That is, the single market involves the solution of five tasks:
- abolition of customs duties between Member States;
- · development of a common trade policy in relation to third countries;
- · development of a common policy for the development of priority industries and sectors of the economy;
- creation of conditions for the free movement of goods, services, capital, labor and information;
- · formation of general funds for assistance to social and regional development.

4) economic union involves the joint determination of the economic policy of the member countries, the implementation of a unified policy for the development of individual sectors of the economy. Supranational bodies are being created, the laws of which are binding on all member countries. At this stage, there is a unification of credit, tax, social policy;
5) economic and monetary union provides for a single monetary policy, the introduction of a single currency, the creation of a new central bank. The single currency is introduced solely for the purpose of facilitating mutual settlements in international trade transactions, so this stage of integration is considered optional;
6) a political union implies a coordinated foreign policy, coordination of actions in the field of security, internal affairs and justice. A common factor for all stages is the abolition of economic barriers.

Only the EU has passed all the stages of integration development, the rest of the integration formations have passed the first, partially the second levels.

At the same time, the statistical effects of integration are:

- “trade creation”, when, as a result of the creation of a free trade area and a customs union, an expensive domestic product is replaced by cheaper imports;
- “trade diversion”, if cheaper imports from third countries are replaced by more expensive imports from a partner country.