ABSTRACT
Many developing countries that are members to a regional integration scheme are today negotiating bilateral free trade agreements (FTAs) with external partners. Some of these agreements, such as the US-Central American-Dominican Republic FTA (DR-CAFTA) and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Three process (Asean+3, involving China, Korea, and Japan), are formed between an entire integration grouping and a third country. However, many of the new bilaterals are formed between a single member of a regional grouping and the third country. Some examples include Colombia and Peru, members of the Andean Community, and Oman and Bahrain, members of the Gulf Cooperation Council, each of which has recently concluded bilateral FTA negotiations with the US; Thailand and Singapore, both members of Asean, that have to date concluded negotiations on four and eleven bilateral free trade agreements, respectively; and India, member of the South Asian Free Trade Agreement (SAFTA) and Bangkok Agreement, that has recently pursued a number of bilateral agreements in Asia, and is considering agreements with the European Union (EU) and European Free Trade Association (EFTA). Still other countries that do not belong in any regional integration group, such as Panama, China, and Japan, have also recently pursued numerous bilateral FTAs both with regional neighbors and more distant partners.
