UPSC Prelims 2018 · Question 34 of 99

UPSC Prelims 2018 question on ASEAN Free Trade Partners

Consider the following countries:

1. Australia
2. Canada
3. China
4. India
5. Japan
6. USA

Which of the above are among the 'free-trade partners' of ASEAN?

  1. 1, 2, 4 and 5
  2. 3, 4, 5 and 6
  3. 1, 3, 4 and 5
  4. 2, 3, 4 and 6
Show answer

Answer: C. 1, 3, 4 and 5

Analysis

Australia, China, India and Japan are ASEAN free trade partners, so the answer is (c) 1, 3, 4 and 5.

ASEAN was established on 8 August 1967 in Bangkok with the signing of the ASEAN Declaration by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. It has existing free trade agreements with Australia, China, India, Japan, South Korea and New Zealand.

Canada and the USA do not appear on that list, which is what eliminates every other option. Option (b) is the closest distractor because it correctly includes China, India and Japan but adds the USA, and option (a) is plausible until Canada is checked.

Source

ASEAN Economic Community page on free trade agreements with dialogue partners.

How to crack it

The reliable move is to know the exclusion rather than the whole list. ASEAN's free trade partners are its Asia Pacific neighbours plus Australia and New Zealand, and North America is absent, so striking out Canada and the USA leaves exactly one option. In grouping questions, look for the single item that does not belong to the region or bloc, because UPSC usually builds the distractors around one intruder.

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