This paper examines the regulatory similarity between APEC economies by NTM types and sectors. We calculate the regulatory distance proposed by Cadot et al. (2015) and identify which industries or NTM type needs further cooperation through the Free Trade Area of Asia-Pacific (FTAAP). We refer to the two pathways of FTAAP, the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and analyze how FTAAP may incorporate the existing mega FTAs to reduce regulatory disparities among APEC economies. We find that regulatory distance differs across industries and thus focusing on specific industries like CPTPP may be an effective way to mitigate unnecessary trade costs attributed to the heterogeneity of regulations. We also argue that including provisions related to technical assistance and capacity building is essential as regulatory distance is especially big between developed economies and developing economies.

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