Regional trade agreements

Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have risen in number and reach over the years, including a notable increase in large plurilateral agreements. Non-discrimination among trading partners is one of the core principles of the WTO; however, RTAs, which are reciprocal preferential trade agreements between two or more partners, constitute one of the derogations and are authorized under the WTO, subject to a set of rules. Information on RTAs notified to the WTO is available in the RTA Database.

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News 

  

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Introduction

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Facts and figures

As of 1 January 2024, 361 RTAs were in force. These correspond to 594 notifications from WTO members, counting goods, services and accessions separately.

  

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Committee on Regional Trade Agreements

The Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) considers individual regional agreements under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs. It is also mandated to hold discussions on the systemic implications of RTAs for the multilateral trading system. The current Chair is .

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Transparency Mechanism for RTAs

WTO members agreed in 2006 to implement a provisional mechanism to enhance the transparency of RTAs and understand their effects on the multilateral system. Under this process, members notify the WTO about their RTAs and these are discussed by the wider WTO membership on the basis of a factual presentation prepared by the WTO Secretariat.

At the 10th Ministerial Conference in Nairobi in 2015, WTO members agreed to work towards the transformation of the provisional mechanism into a permanent mechanism without prejudice to questions related to notification requirements.

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Notifications of RTAs

WTO members are obliged to notify the RTAs in which they participate. All of the WTO's members have notified participation in one or more RTAs (some members are party to 20 or more). Notifications may also refer to the accession of new parties to an agreement that already exists, e.g. the notification of the accession of Croatia to the European Union.

For more detail on notifications of RTAs currently in force, consult the summary tables of the RTA Database http://rtais.wto.org/UI/publicsummarytable.aspx

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Evolution of RTAs, 1948-2024

The following chart shows all RTAs notified to the GATT/WTO (1948-2024), including inactive RTAs, by year of entry into force.

A series of interactive graphs, along with the underlying data, is available from the WTO RTA Database: http://rtais.wto.org/UI/Charts.aspx

 

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New developments in RTAs

Many WTO members continue to be involved in negotiations to create new RTAs. Like the agreements in force, most new negotiations are bilateral. However, a recent development has been negotiations and new agreements among several WTO members. This includes developments in:

  • the Asia-Pacific Region, with the entry into force of the Comprehensive and Progressive Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP) Agreement (signed by 11 parties);
  • Asia, with the signature of  the Regional Comprehensive Partnership Agreement (RCEP) between the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) members and six other WTO members;
  • Latin America, with the establishment of the Pacific Alliance between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru; and
  • Africa, with the entry into force of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA), and negotiations for the Tripartite Agreement, linking parties to the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), the East African Community (EAC) and the Southern African Development Community (SADC).

However, the vast majority of such new plurilateral agreements have not reduced the spaghetti bowl of RTAs given that they have not superseded existing bilateral agreements.

Negotiations on RTAs

Negotiations to clarify and improve WTO disciplines on RTAs fall under the work of the Negotiating Group on Rules, which reports to the Trade Negotiations Committee. The negotiations have been dormant for some time.

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WTO rules on regional trade agreements

The WTO’s rules on regional trade agreements:

RTA Consideration Calendar

Documents

Staff working papers on RTAs

Full list