The changing landscape of regional trade agreements: 2006 update
WTO
DISCUSSION PAPER NO 12
The Changing Landscape of Regional Trade Agreements: 2006 Update
by
Roberto V. Fiorentino, Luis Verdeja and Christelle Toqueboeuf
Regional Trade Agreements Section
Trade Policies Review Division
World Trade Organization
Geneva, Switzerland
2007
ABSTRACT
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) are a prominent feature of the multilateral trading system (MTS)
and have become an important trade policy tool for virtually all WTO Members. The number of RTAs
as well as the world share of trade covered under them has been steadily increasing over the last ten years
and this trend will be further strengthened by the many RTAs being proposed and those currently under
negotiation; the impasse in the Doha Round exacerbates the gap between the preferential and the MFN
paths to trade liberalization. The proliferation of RTAs presents WTO Members with challenges and
opportunities; the promotion of free trade through preferential agreements can foster trade liberalization
and benefit economic development by integrating developing countries into the world economy; yet
the development of complex networks of non-MFN trade relations will increase discrimination and
may well undermine transparency and predictability in international trade relations; it is therefore of
systemic importance for the MTS that the WTO addresses this dichotomy and ensures that RTAs are
designed and implemented so to complement and not undermine the multilateral process. This paper
sets out the scene for such discussion by providing an update of recent developments, trends and future
directions of the so called "Changing Landscape of RTAs". Two broad themes are explored: "RTAs’
kaleidoscope" maps the global landscape of RTAs and looks at main trends and characteristics of "RTA
proliferation" through quantitative and qualitative categorizations of RTAs. The second section of this
paper focuses on the WTO-RTA relationship and its systemic implications for the MTS; it identifies some
of the current and potential tensions arising from the coexistence of the two systems and it provides an
insight into multilateral efforts being pursued to address the existing unbalances.
