Trade bloc
Encyclopedia
A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement
Trade pact
A trade pact is a wide ranging tax, tariff and trade pact that often includes investment guarantees. The most common trade pacts are of the preferential and free trade types are concluded in order to reduce tariffs, quotas and other trade restrictions on items traded between the signatories.-By...

, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade, (tariff
Tariff
A tariff may be either tax on imports or exports , or a list or schedule of prices for such things as rail service, bus routes, and electrical usage ....

s and non-tariff barriers
Non-tariff barriers to trade
Non-tariff barriers to trade are trade barriers that restrict imports but are not in the usual form of a tariff. Some common examples of NTB's are anti-dumping measures and countervailing duties, which, although they are called "non-tariff" barriers, have the effect of tariffs once they are...

) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.

Description

One of the first economic blocs was the German Customs Union (Zollverein
Zollverein
thumb|upright=1.2|The German Zollverein 1834–1919blue = Prussia in 1834 grey= Included region until 1866yellow= Excluded after 1866red = Borders of the German Union of 1828 pink= Relevant others until 1834...

) initiated in 1834, formed on the basis of the German Confederation
German Confederation
The German Confederation was the loose association of Central European states created by the Congress of Vienna in 1815 to coordinate the economies of separate German-speaking countries. It acted as a buffer between the powerful states of Austria and Prussia...

 and subsequently German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...

 from 1871. Surges of trade bloc formation were seen in the 1960s and 1970s, as well as in the 1990s after the collapse of Communism. By 1997, more than 50% of all world commerce was conducted under the auspices of regional trade blocs. Economist
Economist
An economist is a professional in the social science discipline of economics. The individual may also study, develop, and apply theories and concepts from economics and write about economic policy...

 Jeffrey J. Scott of the Peterson Institute for International Economics notes that members of successful trade blocs usually share four common traits: similar levels of per capita GNP
GNP
Gross National Product is the market value of all products and services produced in one year by labor and property supplied by the residents of a country...

, geographic proximity, similar or compatible trading regimes, and political commitment to regional organization.

Advocates of worldwide free trade
Free trade
Under a free trade policy, prices emerge from supply and demand, and are the sole determinant of resource allocation. 'Free' trade differs from other forms of trade policy where the allocation of goods and services among trading countries are determined by price strategies that may differ from...

 are generally opposed to trading blocs, which, they argue, encourage regional as opposed to global free trade. Scholars and economists continue to debate whether regional trade blocs are leading to a more fragmented world economy or encouraging the extension of the existing global multilateral
Multilateralism
Multilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given issue.International organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in nature...

 trading system. Trade blocs can be stand-alone agreements between several states (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

 (NAFTA) or part of a regional organization
Regional organization
Regional Organisations are in a sense, international organizations , as they incorporate international membership and encompass geopolitical entities that operationally transcend a single nation state...

 (such as the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

). Depending on the level of economic integration
Economic integration
Economic integration refers to trade unification between different states by the partial or full abolishing of customs tariffs on trade taking place within the borders of each state...

, trade blocs can fall into different categories, such as: preferential trading area
Preferential trading area
A Preferential trade area is a trading bloc which gives preferential access to certain products from the participating countries. This is done by reducing tariffs, but not by abolishing them completely. A PTA can be established through a trade pact. It is the first stage of economic integration...

s, free trade area
Free trade area
A free trade area is a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement , which eliminates tariffs, import quotas, and preferences on most goods and services traded between them. If people are also free to move between the countries, in addition to FTA, it would also be...

s, customs union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...

s, common markets and economic and monetary union
Economic and monetary union
An economic and monetary union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of an economic union with a monetary union. It is to be distinguished from a mere monetary union , which does not involve a common market. This is the fifth stage of economic integration...

s.

Lists of trade blocs

  • List of preferential trade areas
  • List of free trade areas (bilateral, multilateral)
  • List of customs unions
  • List of common markets
  • List of economic unions
  • List of monetary unions
  • List of customs and monetary unions
  • List of economic and monetary unions

Statistics of trade blocs

Trade bloc Population Gross domestic product Members
2006 2007 growth per capita
Common markets, Economic
Economic union
An economic union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a common market with a customs union. The participant countries have both common policies on product regulation, freedom of movement of goods, services and the factors of production and a common external trade policy.The countries...

 and
Economic and monetary union
An economic and monetary union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of an economic union with a monetary union. It is to be distinguished from a mere monetary union , which does not involve a common market. This is the fifth stage of economic integration...

 Monetary unions
EMU
Economic and Monetary Union of the European Union
The Economic and Monetary Union is an umbrella term for the group of policies aimed at converging the economies of members of the European Union in three stages so as to allow them to adopt a single currency, the euro. As such, it is largely synonymous with the eurozone.All member states of the...

324,879,195 10,685,946,928,310 12,225,304,229,686 14.41% 37,630
OECS
Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States
The Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States , created in 1981, is an inter-governmental organisation dedicated to economic harmonisation and integration, protection of human and legal rights, and the encouragement of good governance between countries and dependencies in the Eastern Caribbean...

593,905 3,752,679,562 3,998,281,731 6.54% 6,732
OII 504,476 12,264,278,329 14,165,953,200 15.51% 28,081
CCCM 6,418,417 39,616,485,623 43,967,600,765 10.98% 6,850
EEA
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...

499,620,521 14,924,076,504,592 17,186,876,431,709 15.16% 34,400
Customs and monetary union
Customs and Monetary Union
An customs and monetary union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a customs union and a currency union. The participant countries have both common external trade policy and share a single currency....

s
CEMAC 39,278,645 51,265,460,685 58,519,380,755 14.15% 1,490
UEMOA 90,299,945 50,395,629,494 58,453,871,283 15.99% 647
Customs union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...

s
CAN 96,924,486 281,269,141,372 334,172,968,648 18.81% 3,448
EAC
East African Community
The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...

127,107,838 49,882,030,443 61,345,180,041 22.98% 483
EUCU
European Union Customs Union
The European Union Customs Union is a customs union which consists of all the Member States of the European Union and a number of surrounding countries....

574,602,745 15,331,827,900,202 17,679,376,474,719 15.31% 30,768
GCC 36,154,528 724,460,151,595 802,641,302,477 10.79% 22,200
MERCOSUR 271,304,946 1,517,510,000,000 1,886,817,000,000 12.44% 9,757
SACU
Southern African Customs Union
The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.-History:SACU is the oldest still existing customs union in the world...

268,445,656 1,499,811,549,187 1,848,337,158,281 23.24% 6,885
Preferential trade areas and Free trade area
Free trade area
A free trade area is a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement , which eliminates tariffs, import quotas, and preferences on most goods and services traded between them. If people are also free to move between the countries, in addition to FTA, it would also be...

s
AANZFTA-ASEAN+3 2,085,858,841 10,216,029,899,764 11,323,947,181,804 10.84% 5,429
ALADI
Latin American Integration Association
The Asociación Latinoamericana de Integración is a Latin American trade integration association, based in Montevideo. Its main objective is the establishment of a common market, in pursuit of the economic and social development of the region...

499,807,662 2,823,198,095,131 3,292,088,771,480 16.61% 6,587
AFTZ 553,915,405 643,541,709,413 739,927,625,273 14.98% 1,336
APTA
Asia-Pacific Trade Agreement
The , previouslyknown as the and renamed 2 November 2005, was signed in1975. It is the oldest preferential trade agreement between developing countries in the Asia-Pacific region....

2,714,464,027 4,868,614,302,744 5,828,692,637,764 19.72% 2,147
CARIFORUM
Caribbean Community
The Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...

-EUCU
European Union Customs Union
The European Union Customs Union is a customs union which consists of all the Member States of the European Union and a number of surrounding countries....

-OCTs
592,083,950 15,437,771,092,522 17,798,283,524,961 15.29% 30,060
CACM 37,388,063 87,209,524,889 97,718,800,794 12.05% 2,614
CEFTA
Central European Free Trade Agreement
The Central European Free Trade Agreement is a trade agreement between non-EU countries in Southeast Europe.-Members:As of 1 May 2007, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo.Former...

27,968,711 110,263,802,023 135,404,501,031 22.80% 4,841
CISFTA
Commonwealth of Independent States
The Commonwealth of Independent States is a regional organization whose participating countries are former Soviet Republics, formed during the breakup of the Soviet Union....

272,897,834 1,271,909,586,018 1,661,429,920,721 30.62% 6,088
DR-CAFTA-US 356,964,477 13,345,469,865,037 14,008,686,684,089 4.97% 39,244
ECOWAS
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....

283,096,250 215,999,071,943 255,784,634,128 18.42% 904
EFTA
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...

-SACU
Sacu
Sacu is a commune in Caraş-Severin County, western Romania with a population of 1681 people. It is composed of three villages: Sacu, Sălbăgelu Nou and Tincova.-References:...

68,199,991 1,021,509,931,918 1,139,385,636,888 11.54% 16,707
EAEC
Eurasian Economic Community
The Eurasian Economic Community originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States customs union between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on 29 March 1996...

207,033,990 1,125,634,333,117 1,465,256,182,498 30.17% 7,077
NAFTA
North American Free Trade Agreement
The North American Free Trade Agreement or NAFTA is an agreement signed by the governments of Canada, Mexico, and the United States, creating a trilateral trade bloc in North America. The agreement came into force on January 1, 1994. It superseded the Canada – United States Free Trade Agreement...

449,227,672 15,337,094,304,218 16,189,097,801,318 5.56% 36,038
TPP
Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership
The Trans-Pacific Partnership , also known as the Trans-Pacific Strategic Economic Partnership Agreement, is a multilateral free trade agreement that aims to further liberalise the economies of the Asia-Pacific region; specifically, Article 1.1.3 notes: “The Parties seek to support the wider...

25,639,622 401,810,366,865 468,101,167,294 16.50% 18,257
SAARC
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh,...

1,567,187,373 1,162,684,650,544 1,428,392,756,312 22.85% 911
SPARTECA 35,079,659 918,557,785,031 1,102,745,750,172 20.05% 31,435
This list is based on the data obtained from  Statistics Division.

Comparison between regional trade blocs












Activities
Regional bloc Free Trade Area
Free trade area
A free trade area is a trade bloc whose member countries have signed a free trade agreement , which eliminates tariffs, import quotas, and preferences on most goods and services traded between them. If people are also free to move between the countries, in addition to FTA, it would also be...

 
|Economic and monetary union
Economic and monetary union
An economic and monetary union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of an economic union with a monetary union. It is to be distinguished from a mere monetary union , which does not involve a common market. This is the fifth stage of economic integration...

 
Free Travel
Travel
Travel is the movement of people or objects between relatively distant geographical locations. 'Travel' can also include relatively short stays between successive movements.-Etymology:...

| Political
Politics
Politics is a process by which groups of people make collective decisions. The term is generally applied to the art or science of running governmental or state affairs, including behavior within civil governments, but also applies to institutions, fields, and special interest groups such as the...

 pact
|Defence pact  Customs Union
Customs union
A customs union is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with a common external tariff. The participant countries set up common external trade policy, but in some cases they use different import quotas...

 
Single Market
Single market
A single market is a type of trade bloc which is composed of a free trade area with common policies on product regulation, and freedom of movement of the factors of production and of enterprise and services. The goal is that the movement of capital, labour, goods, and services between the members...

 
Currency Union
Currency union
A currency union is where two or more states share the same currency, though without there necessarily having any further integration such as an Economic and Monetary Union, which has in addition a customs union and a single market.There are three types of currency unions:#Informal - unilateral...

 
Visa-free
Visa (document)
A visa is a document showing that a person is authorized to enter the territory for which it was issued, subject to permission of an immigration official at the time of actual entry. The authorization may be a document, but more commonly it is a stamp endorsed in the applicant's passport...

 
Border-less
Border control
Border controls are measures used by a country to monitor or regulate its borders.The control of the flow of many people, animals and goods across a border may be controlled by government Customs services. Security is enforced by various kinds of Border Guards and Coast Guards...

EU
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

in force in force7 in force
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...

2
in force
Eurozone
The eurozone , officially called the euro area, is an economic and monetary union of seventeen European Union member states that have adopted the euro as their common currency and sole legal tender...

 1
in force in force
(Schengen 1, 7 and CTA
Common Travel Area
The Common Travel Area is a passport-free zone that comprises the islands of Ireland, Great Britain, the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands. The area's internal borders are subject to minimal or non-existent border controls and can normally be crossed by Irish and British citizens with only...

 1)
in force in force
(NATO 1, 7 and CFSP
Common Foreign and Security Policy
The Common Foreign and Security Policy is the organised, agreed foreign policy of the European Union for mainly security and defence diplomacy and actions. CFSP deals only with a specific part of the EU's external relations, which domains include mainly Trade and Commercial Policy and other areas...

/ESDP
European Security and Defence Policy
The Common Security and Defence Policy , formerly known as the European Security and Defence Policy , is a major element of the Common Foreign and Security Policy of the European Union and is the domain of EU policy covering defence and military aspects...

 1)
ESA
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

 1, 7
EFTA
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...

in force in force
European Economic Area
The European Economic Area was established on 1 January 1994 following an agreement between the member states of the European Free Trade Association and the European Community, later the European Union . Specifically, it allows Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway to participate in the EU's Internal...

2, 7
in force in force 1, 7 in force 1, 7 ESA
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...

 1, 7
CARICOM
Caribbean Community
The Caribbean Community is an organisation of 15 Caribbean nations and dependencies. CARICOM's main purposes are to promote economic integration and cooperation among its members, to ensure that the benefits of integration are equitably shared, and to coordinate foreign policy...

in force in force in force
CARICOM Single Market and Economy
The CARICOM Single Market and Economy, also known as the Caribbean Single Market and Economy , is an integrated development strategy envisioned at the 10th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community which took place in July 1989 in Grand Anse, Grenada...

 1
in force
East Caribbean dollar
The East Caribbean dollar is the currency of eight of the nine members of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States...

 1 and
proposed common
in force 1 proposed proposed NWFZ
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean...


AU
African Union
The African Union is a union consisting of 54 African states. The only all-African state not in the AU is Morocco. Established on 9 July 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organisation of African Unity...


ECOWAS
Economic Community of West African States
The Economic Community of West African States is a regional group of fifteen West African countries. Founded on 28 May 1975, with the signing of the Treaty of Lagos, its mission is to promote economic integration across the region....


in force 1, 3
in force 1
proposed
in force 1 and
proposed for 2012 1 and
proposed common
in force 1
proposed
proposed
in force
NWFZ1
ECCAS
Economic Community of Central African States
The Economic Community of Central African States is an Economic Community of the African Union for promotion of regional economic co-operation in Central Africa...


in force1
in force1
proposed
in force1
in force


in force
NWFZ1
EAC
East African Community
The East African Community is an intergovernmental organisation comprising the five east African countries Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda. Pierre Nkurunziza, the President of the Republic of Burundi, is the current Chairman of the East African Community. The EAC was originally...


in force
in force
proposed for 2015
proposed for 2012
East African shilling
The shilling was the currency issued for use in British controlled areas in East Africa from 1921 until 1969. It was produced by the East African Currency Board...


proposed
?
proposed for 2015

NWFZ1
SADC
Southern African Development Community
The Southern African Development Community is an inter-governmental organization headquartered in Gaborone, Botswana. Its goal is to further socio-economic cooperation and integration as well as political and security cooperation among 15 southern African states...


in force1
in force
Southern African Customs Union
The Southern African Customs Union is a customs union among five countries of Southern Africa: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa and Swaziland.-History:SACU is the oldest still existing customs union in the world...

1
proposed for 2015
de-facto in force
Common Monetary Area
The Common Monetary Area links South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland into a monetary union. It is allied to the Southern African Customs Union . Namibia automatically became a member upon independence, but withdrew with the introduction of the Namibian dollar in 1993...

 1 and proposed common for 2016
proposed



NWFZ1
COMESA
Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa
The Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, is a free trade area with nineteen member states stretching from Libya to Zimbabwe. COMESA formed in December 1994, replacing a Preferential Trade Area which had existed since 1981...


in force1
proposed for 2010
?
proposed for 2018




NWFZ1
Common
African Economic Community
The African Economic Community is an organization of African Union states establishing grounds for mutual economic development among the majority of African states...


proposed for 2019
proposed for 2019
proposed for 2023
proposed for 2028


proposed for 2028

NWFZ1
UNASUR
MERCOSUR
Mercosur
Mercosur or Mercosul is an economic and political agreement among Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay. Founded in 1991 by the Treaty of Asunción, which was later amended and updated by the 1994 Treaty of Ouro Preto. Its purpose is to promote free trade and the fluid movement of goods, people,...


in force
in force
proposed for 2015

in force

proposed for 2014

NWFZ
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean...


CAN
in force
in force 1
proposed1

in force



NWFZ
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean...


Common
proposed for 2014 4
proposed for not after 2019
proposed for 2019
proposed for 2019
in force
proposed for 2019
proposed
in force
NWFZ
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean...

>
EurAsEC
Eurasian Economic Community
The Eurasian Economic Community originated from the Commonwealth of Independent States customs union between Belarus, Russia and Kazakhstan on 29 March 1996...

in force1 in force
Customs Union of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Russia
The Customs Union between Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia came into existence on January 1, 2010. Belarus, Kazakhstan, and Russia are to go on with economic integration and were set to remove all customs borders between each other after July 2011....

1
proposed for 20121 Proposed in force in force
Collective Security Treaty Organization
The Collective Security Treaty Organization is an intergovernmental military alliance which was signed on 15 May 1992. On 7 October 2002, the Presidents of Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia and Tajikistan signed a charter in Tashkent founding the CSTO.Nikolai Bordyuzha was appointed...

 1
AL
Arab League
The Arab League , officially called the League of Arab States , is a regional organisation of Arab states in North and Northeast Africa, and Southwest Asia . It was formed in Cairo on 22 March 1945 with six members: Egypt, Iraq, Transjordan , Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and Syria. Yemen joined as a...


GCC
in force
proposed for 2012
proposed
proposed 1
in force




Common
Council of Arab Economic Unity
The Council of Arab Economic Unity was established by Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Libya, Mauritania, Palestine, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Tunisia, Syria, United Arab Emirates and Yemen on 3 June 1957...


in force1
proposed for 2015
Arab Customs Union
The Arab customs union is a customs union announced at the Arab League's 2009 Arab Economic and Social Development Summit in Kuwait in order to achieve a functional customs union by 2015 and an Arab common market by 2020 and to increase inter-Arab trade and integration.The announcement was made by...


proposed for 2020
proposed
Arab Monetary Fund
The Arab Monetary Fund is a regional Arab organization, founded 1976, and operational from 1977. It is a working sub-organization of the Arab League.-Objectives:...




proposed

>
ASEAN
Association of Southeast Asian Nations
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations, commonly abbreviated ASEAN rarely ), is a geo-political and economic organization of ten countries located in Southeast Asia, which was formed on 8 August 1967 by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Since then, membership has...

in force
ASEAN Free Trade Area
ASEAN Free Trade Area is a trade bloc agreement by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations supporting local manufacturing in all ASEAN countries....

 5
proposed for 2015 proposed 8 in force proposed for 2015 proposed for 2020 NWFZ
CAIS
Central American Integration System
Central American Integration System is the economic, cultural and political organization of Central American states since February 1, 1993. It was on December 13, 1991, however, when all the countries of the ODECA signed the Protocol of Tegucigalpa which extended the earlier cooperation in search...

in force1 proposed ? in force1 in force
Central America-4 Border Control Agreement
The Central America-4 Border Control Agreement was a treaty signed in June 2006 between the Central American nations of El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua, establishing the free movement across borders between the four signatory states of its citizens without any restrictions or checks...

1
proposed
Central American Parliament
The Central American Parliament , also known as PARLACEN is a political institution devoted to the integration of the Central American countries. Its headquarters are in Guatemala City....

NWFZ
Treaty of Tlatelolco
The Treaty of Tlatelolco is the conventional name given to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean...

CEFTA
Central European Free Trade Agreement
The Central European Free Trade Agreement is a trade agreement between non-EU countries in Southeast Europe.-Members:As of 1 May 2007, the parties of the CEFTA agreement are: Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Moldova, Montenegro, Serbia and UNMIK on behalf of Kosovo.Former...

in force RCC7
NAFTA in force in force 1, 7
SAARC
South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation
The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation is an organisation of South Asian nations, founded in December 1985 by Ziaur Rahman and dedicated to economic, technological, social, and cultural development emphasising collective self-reliance. Its seven founding members are Bangladesh,...

in force 1, 6
PIF
Pacific Islands Forum
The Pacific Islands Forum is an inter-governmental organization that aims to enhance cooperation between the independent countries of the Pacific Ocean. It was founded in 1971 as the South Pacific Forum...

proposed for 20211 NWFZ
Treaty of Rarotonga
The Treaty of Rarotonga is the common name for the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, which formalizes a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the South Pacific...

1


1 not all members participating yet

2 involving goods, services, telecommunications, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

 (full liberalisation of railways from 2012), energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 (full liberalisation from 2007)

3 telecommunications, transport
Transport
Transport or transportation is the movement of people, cattle, animals and goods from one location to another. Modes of transport include air, rail, road, water, cable, pipeline, and space. The field can be divided into infrastructure, vehicles, and operations...

 and energy
Energy
In physics, energy is an indirectly observed quantity. It is often understood as the ability a physical system has to do work on other physical systems...

 - proposed

4 sensitive goods to be covered from 2019

5 least developed members to join from 2012

6 least developed members to join from 2017

7 Additionally some non member states also participate (the European Union
European Union
The European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...

, EFTA
European Free Trade Association
The European Free Trade Association or EFTA is a free trade organisation between four European countries that operates parallel to, and is linked to, the European Union . EFTA was established on 3 May 1960 as a trade bloc-alternative for European states who were either unable to, or chose not to,...

 and NATO have overlapping membership and various common initiatives regarding the European integration
European integration
European integration is the process of industrial, political, legal, economic integration of states wholly or partially in Europe...

).

8 Additionally some non member states also participate (ASEAN Plus Three)
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