regional trade agreements

WTO members review five regional trade agreements, discuss transparency issues

At a meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) on 2 December, WTO members reviewed five regional trade agreements involving China, Ecuador, Israel, the Republic of Korea, the United Kingdom, Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Türkiye, and Bosnia and Herzegovina. They also reviewed other topics relevant to the Committee's work under the Transparency Mechanism for RTAs.

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Note

This note has been prepared by the WTO Secretariat to assist public understanding about the work of the WTO's councils, committees and other bodies. It is not intended as a complete account of all issues raised at the meeting. These can be found in the formal meeting minutes.

The Committee considered the following Agreements: 

Free Trade Agreement between China and Ecuador, goods

Economic Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and Côte d'Ivoire, goods 

Interim Partnership Agreement between the United Kingdom and Ghana, goods

Free Trade Agreement between the Republic of Korea and Israel, goods and services 

Free Trade Agreement between Türkiye and Bosnia and Herzegovina, goods and services

The Chair of the Committee, Ambassador José Valencia of Ecuador, noted that there were four new notifications of RTAs and two notifications regarding changes to existing RTAs. However, at least 62 RTAs that are in force have not yet been notified.

The Chair also reported on the informal consultations held in September and October with members on the issues of non-notified RTAs and factual presentations. He noted that while there was broad agreement on some issues, many others would require further discussions if the Committee decided to take them forward. While some members had referred to possible inputs earlier in the year for the 14th Ministerial Conference, the Committee did not delve into these issues.

Under other business, China encouraged members of recently concluded agreements of a non-conventional nature or characteristics to notify them, or to share relevant information with WTO members. Finally, the WTO Secretariat provided an account of the RTA-related technical assistance activities it had undertaken in 2025 and those planned for 2026. 

Next meeting

The next Committee meeting is scheduled for 3 March 2026.

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