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Regional Trade Agreements In recent years, Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs) have become quite popular. RTAs are multilateral trade agreements within a particular global region . Clearly a case of acronyms gone wild, there are a few RTAs that are so large and powerful, and so often mentioned in the financial news, you should be able to recognize them and know their basics. RTA members often negotiate as a trade bloc to reach bilateral trade agreements with other nations or RTAs. NAFTA The North American Free Trade Agreement is a trilateral RTA formed in 1992 between the U.S. , Canada and Mexico . It eliminates barriers to cross-border trade and promotes fair competition in the markets. The agreement paved the way for an increase in cross-border financial investment. NAFTA is credited for a huge increase in trade between the three countries, particularly in agricultural products and oil. ASEAN This is the Association of Southeast Asian Nations , a multilateral RTA among ten member nations: Indonesia , Malaysia , Philippines , Singapore , Thailand , Brunei , Vietnam , Laos , Myanmar and Cambodia . The goal of this RTA is to cooperate for the purpose of accelerating economic growth, social progress, and cultural development in the region. EU (Recall the EU from Lesson 5, Crazy for Currency.) The European Union (EU) is essentially an RTA consisting of 28 member nations. The EU acts as a single economic unit for trade and commerce, negotiating and entering into bilateral FTAs with nations all over the world. In fact, the EU is party to dozens of bilateral FTAs. The U.S. is the EU’s biggest trading partner. GCC This is the Gulf Cooperation Council , an RTA consisting of the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, except for Iraq. Member states are Bahrain , Kuwait , Oman , Qatar , Saudi Arabia , and the United Arab Emirates . MERCOSUR The Mercado Común del Sur is also known as the Southern Common Market . It is an RTA founded in 1991 among Argentina ; Brazil ; Paraguay ; Uruguay ; Venezuela and more recently, Bolivia . Its objectives are free trade and movement of goods, people, and currency. SLIDE 17J PRODUCT PREVIEW

Lesson 17 | Breaking Down Barriers 320

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