Bridges Weekly Trade News Digest • Volume 13 • Number 2 • 21st January 2009
WTO Announces New Online RTA Database
Discuss this articleShare your views with other visitors, and read what they have to say
The WTO launched an RTA database containing notifications, legal provisions, texts and information on WTO assessment last week. Containing nearly 200 Agreements currently in force, the database, which was available to the public as of 14 January, is intended to satisfy the requirements of the General Council’s Transparency Decision on Regional Trade Agreements.
The database provides members of the public with an easy-to-use system, providing multiple search options and links to additional country profiles for quick access. Additionally, the system provides detailed information on individual RTAs, such as key provisions, timetables and supporting documents.
Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) refer to arrangements entered into by a WTO member in which it grants more favourable treatment to trade with certain parties. Although contrary to general principles of non-discrimination, they are permitted by the WTO under specific conditions, and are sometimes described generally as Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs).
Some 421 RTAs have been notified to the GATT/WTO as of December 2008, and have become a prominent feature of multilateral trade.
However, some have criticised the proliferation of the preferential trade deals as a de facto return to the discriminatory trade practices that existed before the inception of the WTO. In his book Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade, economist Jagdish Bhagwati argues that such arrangements destroy the non-discrimination that once formed the foundation of postwar trade architecture, creating a confusing and problematic maze of preferences.
WTO Director-General Pascal Lamy said in September 2007 that the “proliferation” of RTAs “is breeding concern — concern about incoherence, confusion, exponential increase of costs for business, unpredictability and even unfairness in trade relations.”
Notably, however, Lamy also acknowledged that many regional initiatives have contributed to economic welfare and political stability.
The WTO’s database of Regional Trade Agreements is available now at http://rtais.wto.org/.
ICTSD reporting.
Add a comment
Enter your details and a comment below, then click Submit Comment. We’ll review and publish the best comments.