Tear Down This (Trade) Wall!

I'm going over the (trade) wall
Please don't be waiting for me
--Rotten, (rewrite)

I am a big fan of multilateral trade, but it appears in research papers that bilateral trade among smaller countries does little for overall economic activity. I can imagine why, as 'point of origin' rules and regulation clutter the trade landscape. Obviously, regional trading blocs are superior

South Korea, Singapore Reach Trade Deal
11.28.2004, 10:33 PM

Leading Asian economies South Korea and Singapore concluded a free trade agreement during a regional summit in Laos, the South Korean government announced Monday.

Seoul has said it wants to use an FTA with Singapore as a key launch pad for similar agreements with other Southeast Asian countries. This year's seven rounds of negotiations on the deal went smoothly because Singapore has no agricultural sector - a common stumbling block in trade talks.

"Trade ministers from both countries met on Sunday and coordinated opinions on the remaining pending issues concerning the FTA negotiations," a statement by the South Korean Foreign Ministry said.

....The good news is that this might to inclusion into ASEAN for South Korea...dare I dream and say 'possibly Japan as well'? That would be crazy good. Forget One Big Union, let's get "One Massive Asian Trading Bloc".