| This thesis examines the wave of regionalism currently being experienced in international trade, which is manifested by the proliferation of free trade areas and customs unions, regional trade agreements (RTAs). This thesis attempts to determine whether regionalism is welfare-enhancing and is liberalising the global economy as envisioned by GATT Article XXIV. The answer is: not necessarily.;Chapter One briefly discusses the principle of non-discrimination and provides a general account of the recent development of RTAs. Chapter Two examines the economic and political-economic aspects of RTAs, while Chapter Three examines their legal aspects. To put the two chapters into perspective, a case study of the North American Free Trade Agreement is conducted in Chapter Four. Chapter Five suggests that the global economy should revert its attention back to the multilateral trading system and/or RTAs should incorporate "open regionalism" into their framework to effectively counter the diversionary problems they cause. In closing, Chapter Five introduces the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum, which is the only regional trading arrangement that is openly pursuing "open regionalism" and "multilateralism", as a model for all RTAs and as a bridge between regionalism and multilateralism. |
