Abstract
The establishment of areas of integration in world trade:
The establishment of large regional areas reveals two trends. Within NAFTA, regionalization has led to an intensification of trade within the zone, while in the EU, trade stagnated. Regionalization does not imply a strong increase in intra-regional trade, it would even tend to increase the share linked to world trade. Indeed, exports of the four major free trade areas represents 60% of world trade.
The nature of regional integration agreements:The WTO applies within it what we call the clause ;most-favored nation (MFN);, that is to say, that all exporting countries benefiting from this provision is automatically applied the favorable tariff . In 1961, Balassa gave an overview of the different types of regional agreements:
- Associations and forums on economic cooperation: they aim for organizing cooperation between States on economic issues at large.
- The non-reciprocal preferential agreements: these are agreements between two countries but which benefit only one country, they are unilateral agreements.
- The area of free trade: it entails reciprocity agreements on reducing trade barriers.
- The Customs Union: in addition to being a free-trade, it takes into account certain areas of trade policy of Member States.
- The Common Market: it extends the liberalization agreements to factors of production: labor, capital and technology.
- The integration of economic and monetary policies:
This integration leads to certain macroeconomic policies common in EU countries. The first major post-war agreement is the Treaty of Rome signed in 1957. It will be followed by a swarm of agreements not only in Europe but in America or in Africa. What we can note that today all countries of the WTO have at least a regional agreement.
