The Big Picture: South–South Regional Trade Agreements within the Context of the Multilateral Trade Systems

The last few decades have witnessed a dramatic explosion in the numbers and membership of regional trade agreements (RTAs). In fact, with the establishment of the WTO, and as of February 2016, some 625 notifications of RTAs (counting goods, services, and accessions separately) had been received by the GATT/WTO. The global proliferation of RTAs is partly explained by the seemingly controversial nature of the Doha Round of trade negotiations. With the grudgingly low progress at the multilateral level, many major players in global trade are increasingly resorting to RTAs to advance their trade, investments and commercial interests. In fact, the United States of America (USA), which is historically a strong proponent of the multilateral trading system is focusing increasingly on discriminatory FTAs. Another part-reason for the increased focus on RTAs in particular, and South–South RTAs in general, is due to the need to address many ‘behind-the-border’ issues such as competition and investment regulations, in addition to traditional trade issues such as border tariffs. Based on this background, this chapter provides insightful and actionable policy recommendations towards better understanding South–South RTAs within the context of the multilateral trade system.