Trade bloc
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
|
International Trade Series
|
|---|
| International trade |
| History of international trade |
| Political views |
| Fair trade |
| Trade justice |
| Free trade |
| Protectionism
|
| Economic integration |
| Preferential trading area |
| Free trade area |
| Customs union |
| Single market |
| Economic and monetary union |
| Other |
| Trade pact |
| Trade bloc |
| Trade creation |
| Trade diversion |
A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regional intergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade (tariffs and non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated among the participating states.[1]
Contents |
[edit] Description
One of the first economic blocs was the German Customs Union (Zollverein) initiated in 1834, formed on the basis of the German Confederation and subsequently German Empire 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.[2] Economist 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, geographic proximity, similar or compatible trading regimes, and political commitment to regional organization.[3]
Advocates of worldwide free trade are generally opposed to trading blocs, which, they argue, encourage regional as opposed to global free trade.[4] 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 trading system.[5][6] Trade blocs can be stand-alone agreements between several states (such as the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA]]) or part of a regional organization (such as the European Union). Depending on the level of economic integration, trade blocs can fall into different categories, such as:[7] preferential trading areas, free trade areas, customs unions, common markets and economic and monetary unions.
[edit] List of trade blocs
This list is based on the data obtained from 
United Nations Statistics Division.
| Trade bloc | Population | Gross domestic product (USD) | Members | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2006 | 2007 | growth | per capita | |||
| Economic and monetary unions | ||||||
| CEMAC | 39,278,645 | 51,265,460,685 | 58,519,380,755 | 14.15% | 1,490 | |
| EMU | 324,879,195 | 10,685,946,928,310 | 12,225,304,229,686 | 14.41% | 37,630 | |
| OECS | 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 | |
| UEMOA | 90,299,945 | 50,395,629,494 | 58,453,871,283 | 15.99% | 647 | |
| Common markets | ||||||
| CACM | 37,388,063 | 87,209,524,889 | 97,718,800,794 | 12.05% | 2,614 | |
| CAN | 96,924,486 | 281,269,141,372 | 334,172,968,648 | 18.81% | 3,448 | |
| CCCM | 6,418,417 | 39,616,485,623 | 43,967,600,765 | 10.98% | 6,850 | |
| EEA | 499,620,521 | 14,924,076,504,592 | 17,186,876,431,709 | 15.16% | 34,400 |
30
|
| Customs unions | ||||||
| EAC | 127,107,838 | 49,882,030,443 | 61,345,180,041 | 22.98% | 483 | |
| EAEC | 207,033,990 | 1,125,634,333,117 | 1,465,256,182,498 | 30.17% | 7,077 | |
| EUCU | 574,602,745 | 15,331,827,900,202 | 17,679,376,474,719 | 15.31% | 30,768 |
33
|
| GCC | 36,154,528 | 724,460,151,595 | 802,641,302,477 | 10.79% | 22,200 | |
| MERCOSUR | 55,681,675 | 277,544,834,196 | 305,692,671,540 | 10.14% | 5,490 | |
| SACU | 268,445,656 | 1,499,811,549,187 | 1,848,337,158,281 | 23.24% | 6,885 | |
| Free trade areas | ||||||
| AANZFTA-ASEAN+3 | 2,085,858,841 | 10,216,029,899,764 | 11,323,947,181,804 | 10.84% | 5,429 |
15
|
| ALADI | 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 |
26
|
| APTA | 2,714,464,027 | 4,868,614,302,744 | 5,828,692,637,764 | 19.72% | 2,147 |
6
|
| CARIFORUM-EUCU-OCTs | 592,083,950 | 15,437,771,092,522 | 17,798,283,524,961 | 15.29% | 30,060 |
67
12 CCCM members
33 EUCU members 3 OII members  Anguilla Aruba Bahamas British Antarctic Territory British Indian Ocean Territory British Virgin Islands Cayman Islands Dominican Republic Falkland Islands French Southern and Antarctic Lands Greenland Mayotte Montserrat Netherlands Antilles Pitcairn Islands Saint Helena South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands Saint Pierre and Miquelon Turks and Caicos Islands |
| CEFTA | 27,968,711 | 110,263,802,023 | 135,404,501,031 | 22.80% | 4,841 | |
| CISFTA | 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 |
7
|
| ECOWAS | 283,096,250 | 215,999,071,943 | 255,784,634,128 | 18.42% | 904 |
15
|
| EFTA-SACU | 68,199,991 | 1,021,509,931,918 | 1,139,385,636,888 | 11.54% | 16,707 | |
| NAFTA | 449,227,672 | 15,337,094,304,218 | 16,189,097,801,318 | 5.56% | 36,038 | |
| P4 | 25,639,622 | 401,810,366,865 | 468,101,167,294 | 16.50% | 18,257 | |
| SAARC | 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 |
21
|
.svg){kind=small}
[edit] Notes
[edit] Bibliography
- Mansfield, Edward D. and Helen V. Milner, "The New Wave of Regionalism" in Diehl, Paul F. (2005). The Politics of Global Governance: International Organizations in an Interdependent World. Boulder: Lynne Rienner Publishers. ISBN 1-555876-544.
- Milner, Helen V., "International Trade" in Carlsnaes, Walter; Thomas Risse, Beth A. Simmons (2002). Handbook of International Relations. London: SAGE Publications. ISBN 0-761963-049.
- O'Loughlin, John; Luc Anselin (1996). "Geo-Economic Competition and Trade Bloc Formation: United States, German, and Japanese Exports, 1968-1992". Economic Geography 72 (2): 131-160.
- Schott, Jeffrey J. (1991). "Trading blocs and the world trading system". World Economy 14 (1): 1-17.
[edit] See also
|
|||||||||||||||||||
