지역무역협정의 확산이 다자무역체제에 미치는 영향

Effect of Proliferation of RTAs on Multilateral Trading System

ince the World Trade Organization(WTO) was created in 1995, regional trade agreements (RTAs) have become a prominent feature of the Multilateral Trading System and nearly all of the WTO members have notified participation in one or more RTAs. The WTO is losing consequently its centrality in the international trading system. RTAs can help countries integrate into the multilateral trading system, but, at the same time, bring a fundamental departure from the principle of non-discrimination. This raises the question of whether RTAs are a building block for multilateral liberalization or a stumbling block. The article examines the WTO rules that deal with RTAs (GATT Article XXIV, the Enabling Clause, and GATS Article V), the main trends identified in RTAs, the economic and political reasons why WTO Members engage in RTAs so positively, as well as the positive and negative effects of regionalism on multilateralism.