A trade bloc is a type of intergovernmental agreement, often part of a regionalintergovernmental organization, where regional barriers to trade, (tariffs and

non-tariff barriers) are reduced or eliminated [1] among the participating states.
Contents
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1 Description 2 Lists of trade blocs 3 Statistics of trade blocs 4 Comparison between regional trade blocs 5 See also 6 Notes 7 Bibliography

[edit]Description

Stages of economic integration around the World: (each country colored according to the most advanced agreement that it participates into.) Economic and Monetary Union (CSME/EC$, EU/) Economic union (CSME, EU) Customs and Monetary Union (CEMAC/franc, UEMOA/franc) Common market (EEA, EFTA, CES) Customs union (CAN, CUBKR, EAC, EUCU, MERCOSUR, SACU) Multilateral Free Trade Area (AFTA, CEFTA, CISFTA, COMESA,GAFTA, GCC, NAFTA, SAFTA, SICA, TPP)

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 [2] regional trade blocs.

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 [3] proximity, similar or compatible trading regimes, and political commitment to regional organization. Advocates of worldwide free trade are generally opposed to trading blocs, which, they argue, encourage [4] 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 [5][6] global multilateral trading system. 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 [7] on the level of economic integration, trade blocs can fall into different categories, such as: preferential trading areas, free trade areas,customs unions, common markets and economic and monetary unions. [edit]Lists

of trade blocs

Monetary unions.

Customs unions worldwide.

Regional trade blocs: European Union (EU) African Union (AU) Union of South American Nations (UNASUR) Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Central American Integration System (SICA) Arab League (AL) European Free Trade Association (EFTA) Eurasian Economic Community (EAEC) Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Central European Free Trade Agreement (CEFTA) North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) Pacific Islands Forum (PIF)

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

[edit]Statistics

of trade blocs
United Nations Statistics Division .

This list is based on the data obtained from

Gross domestic product (USD) Trade bloc Population 2006 2007 growth per capita Members

Common markets, Economic and Monetary unions

EMU

324,879,195 10,685,946,928,310 12,225,304,229,686

14.41%

37,630 17[show]

OECS

593,905

3,752,679,562

3,998,281,731

6.54%

6,732 6[show]

OII

504,476

12,264,278,329

14,165,953,200

15.51%

28,081 3[show]

CCCM

6,418,417

39,616,485,623

43,967,600,765

10.98%

6,850 12[show]

EEA

499,620,521 14,924,076,504,592 17,186,876,431,709

15.16%

34,400 30[show]

Customs and monetary unions

CEMAC

39,278,645

51,265,460,685

58,519,380,755

14.15%

1,490 6[show]

UEMOA

90,299,945

50,395,629,494

58,453,871,283

15.99%

647 8[show]

Customs unions

CAN

96,924,486

281,269,141,372

334,172,968,648

18.81%

3,448 4[show]

EAC

127,107,838

49,882,030,443

61,345,180,041

22.98%

483 5[show]

EUCU

574,602,745 15,331,827,900,202 17,679,376,474,719

15.31%

30,768 33[show]

GCC

36,154,528

724,460,151,595

802,641,302,477

10.79%

22,200 6[show]

MERCOSUR

271,304,946

1,517,510,000,000

1,886,817,000,000

12.44%

9,757 5[show]

SACU

58,000,000

1,499,811,549,187

1,848,337,158,281

23.24%

6,885 5[show]

Preferential trade areas and Free trade areas

AANZFTAASEAN+3

2,085,858,841 10,216,029,899,764 11,323,947,181,804

10.84%

5,429 15[show]

ALADI

499,807,662

2,823,198,095,131

3,292,088,771,480

16.61%

6,587 12[show]

AFTZ

553,915,405

643,541,709,413

739,927,625,273

14.98%

1,336 26[show]

APTA

2,714,464,027

4,868,614,302,744

5,828,692,637,764

19.72%

2,147 6[show]

CARIFORUMEUCU-OCTs

592,083,950 15,437,771,092,522 17,798,283,524,961

15.29%

30,060 67[show]

CACM

37,388,063

87,209,524,889

97,718,800,794

12.05%

2,614 5[show]

CEFTA

27,968,711

110,263,802,023

135,404,501,031

22.80%

4,841 8[show]

CISFTA

272,897,834

1,271,909,586,018

1,661,429,920,721

30.62%

6,088 11[show]

DR-CAFTAUS

356,964,477 13,345,469,865,037 14,008,686,684,089

4.97%

39,244 7[show]

ECOWAS

283,096,250

215,999,071,943

255,784,634,128

18.42%

904 15[show]

EFTA-SACU

68,199,991

1,021,509,931,918

1,139,385,636,888

11.54%

16,707 9[show]

EAEC

207,033,990

1,125,634,333,117

1,465,256,182,498

30.17%

7,077 6[show]

NAFTA

449,227,672 15,337,094,304,218 16,189,097,801,318

5.56%

36,038 3[show]

TPP

25,639,622

401,810,366,865

468,101,167,294

16.50%

18,257 4[show]

SAARC

1,567,187,373

1,162,684,650,544

1,428,392,756,312

22.85%

911 8[show]

SPARTECA

35,079,659

918,557,785,031

1,102,745,750,172

20.05%

31,435 21[show]

[edit]Comparison

between regional trade blocs

Activities Economic and monetary Free Travel Political Custo ms Union Single Market Currenc y Union Visafree pact Border-less Defence pact Othe r

Free Regional bloc Trade Area

union

in force EU in force in force

7

in force
1,

in force2

in force 1 in force

(Schengen
7

, NPUand C
1

in force

(NATO 1,
7

ESA
1, 7

andCFSP/E
1

TA ) EFTA in force in force2,

7

SDP ) in force 1, 7 ESA

1, 7

in force in force 1 a

in force 1, 7

CARICOM

in force

in force

in force 1

nd propose d common in force 1 a nd

in force
1

proposed

proposed

NWF Z

AU

ECOWA S

in force 1,
3

in force 1

propose d
[8][9]

propose d for 2012 1 a nd propose

in force 1

proposed

proposed in force

NWF Z1

d common ECCAS in force in force

1

in force in force
1

propose d propose d for 2015

in force1 propose d for 2012 defacto in force 1 a nd propose d common for 2016

in force

in force

NWF Z1 NWF Z1

EAC

propose d

proposed for 2015

SADC

in force
1

in force
1

propose d for 2015

propose d
[10]

NWF Z1

COMES A

in force1 propo

propos ed for 2010 propos propose ed for 2019 d for 2023 propose d for 2015
[11]

propose ? d for 2018 propose d for 2028

NWF Z1

Commo n

sed for 2019

proposed for 2028

NWF Z1

MERCO SUR

in force in force propo

in force in force
1

proposed in force for 2014 in force

[12]

NWF Z NWF Z

UNAS UR

CAN

propose d
1[13]

propos ed for not after 2019 in propose

1

Commo n

sed for 2014

4

propose d for 2019

propose d for 2019

in force
[14]

proposed for 2019

proposed in force

NWF Z

EurAsEC

in force
1

force

d for 20121 propose d

Propose d
[15]

in force
[16]

in force 1

AL

GCC

in force

propos ed for 2012

[1

propose d1

in force

7]

Commo n

in force
1

propos propose ed for 2015 d for 2020 propose

5

propose d

proposed
[18]

ASEAN

in force in force in force in force in

1

d for 2015 propos ed ?

[19]

propose d
8[20]

in force
[21]

proposed for 2015 in force1

[22]

proposed for 2020

[23]

NWF Z NWF Z RCC

7

CAIS

in force1

proposed

CEFTA

NAFTA

in force 1, 7

SAARC

force 1,
6

propo PIF sed for 20211

1 2 3 4 5 6 7

NWF Z1

not all members participating yet involving goods, services, telecommunications, transport (full liberalisation of railways from 2012), energy (full liberalisation from 2007) telecommunications, transport and energy - proposed sensitive goods to be covered from 2019 least developed members to join from 2012 least developed members to join from 2017 Additionally some non member states also participate (the European Union, EFTA and NATO have overlapping membership and various

common initiatives regarding the European integration).

8

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