Regional trade agreements (RTAs) which provide for the exchange of reciprocal preferences among their members have become an important part of the global landscape of international trade. Most build upon commitments that have been agreed in the context of the multilateral trading system, and therefore provide more additional preferential treatment to RTA partners than that provided on an MFN basis to all other WTO Members. By the end of 2014, 258 RTAs that are currently in force had been notified to the WTO. In addition, new negotiations are under way suggesting that the current upward trend in RTAs is likely to continue. RTAs have always co-existed with the multilateral trading system and the WTO rules permit the formation of RTAs under certain conditions.

The multilateral trading system is generally considered to be a system administered by the WTO. The cornerstone of this system is the principle of multilateral trade, centered on MFN and national treatment. For more than 50 years, both the GATT and the WTO have played an irreplaceable role in promoting trade liberalization.

Most countries in the world have begun to focus on the development of RTAs as a foreign policy. Some countries regard achieving RTAs as important as achieving multilateral trade objectives. While others have prioritized the development of RTAs; highlighting their importance in national economic and political strategies. In the new round of expansion of RTAs, the Asia-Pacific region is becoming a new growth point. RTAs are becoming more and more complex, and in many cases their trading rules have developed much farther than the multilateral trading system. Traditional RTAs aim to achieve regional trade liberalization or regional trade facilitation, focusing on reducing tariff barriers and restricting non-tariff barriers. The negotiations are mainly concentrated in the field of trade in goods. Reciprocal trade agreements between developed and developing countries have increased, and developing countries have less reliance on non-reciprocal trade preferences.

Theoretically speaking, when the WTO-dominated multilateral trade liberalization process is struggling, it will take the lead in realizing the small-scale development of specific regions. Especially in those areas where the level of economic development is close, and the social and political systems are blending. On this basis, it is a practical way to try to establish a multilateral mechanism at the regional level and to move closer to the global multilateral system. As the OECD points out, "the consequences of the implementation of RTAs will often increase the impact of the strengthening of multilateral trade regimes". As the RTAs are achieved, and as the number of members increases and the harmonization of rules strengthens, there is a possibility of transition to the multilateral trading system framework of the appeal. Regional trade agreements have in fact become the "only way" for future (or potential) multilateral trading regimes.

 

 

Источник: Discussion paper for the G20 (21 September 2015)

http://g20.org.tr/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/8.G20-Discussion-Paper_RTAs-and-MTS.pdf