ABSTRACT
Currently, globalization is playing itself out in the form of regional integration, and free trade agreements are central elements in this dynamic. The last couple of decades have seen a proliferation of such agreements across the globe: in 1990, there were 27 free trade agreements (FTAs), and as of July 2007 the World Trade Organization (WTO) had registered 380 such agreements (Matsushita and Lee 2008, 23).
