Regional Trade Blocs
From the EU to RCEP to the African Continental Free Trade Area, how regional agreements are reshaping global trade.
The Rise of Regional Trade
The WTO has 166 members, and reaching consensus among them on trade liberalization has proven increasingly difficult. The Doha Round, launched in 2001, has been effectively dead since 2008. In the vacuum, countries have turned to regional and bilateral trade agreements. The WTO counts over 350 regional trade agreements (RTAs) in force -- virtually every WTO member belongs to at least one.
The most ambitious RTAs go far beyond tariff reduction. The EU single market eliminates internal borders for goods, services, capital, and labor. The CPTPP (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership) covers intellectual property, state-owned enterprises, labor, and environmental standards. RCEP (Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership), signed in 2020, links 15 Asia-Pacific economies representing 30% of global GDP, making it the world's largest trade bloc by population and economic size.