Introduction

Over the last 15 years regional trade agreements (RTAs) have become defining features of the modern economy and a powerful force for globalisation. As of July 2007 more than 380 RTAs had been notified to the World Trade Organization (WTO) of which nearly 205 were active (see Table 1.1 for a list of selected RTAs).1 All but one WTO member, Mongolia, are engaged in an RTA of one sort or another (Crawford and Fiorentino 2005:1).