ABSTRACT
International economic relations today are characterised by two trends, namely globalism and regionalism. The signing of the Marrakech Agreement in 1994 signalled the conclusion of the Uruguay Round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and led to the establishment of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) in 1995. All Southern African countries are members of the WTO and hence are committed to the process of multilateral trade liberalisation. However, the Uruguay Round was paralleled by greater regionalism in the form of trade integration schemes, notably in Europe, North America, South America and South-East Asia, with a looser association in the Asia-Pacific area.
