The New Regionalism: an Introduction

Since the early nineties, there has been a veritable boom in the market for all sorts of trade agreements, from bilateral to plurilateral ones, and leading to deep or shallow integration. This boom might at least in part be explained by newcomers in the race. Certainly by the European Union, which has been the precursor and has been expanding significantly its membership, while also undertaking a complex set of agreements with almost all parts of the world; but what is important it has been joined by the United States with the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), followed by the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum and the - although unsuccessful - Free Trade Area of the Americas (FTAA) initiative, and as of lately by Asian countries, including China. Latin American countries have, likewise, been involved in a growing number of trade agreements, both at the South-South level as well as at the North-South level.