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Preferential Trade Agreements Essay

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International Trading Blocs Preferential Trade Agreements (PTAs) Preferential Trade Agreements or trading blocs are a form of economic integration in which countries agree to create a free trade area or some form of common market to facilitate trade. This agreement can be in different forms and depths, for instance there is Free Trade Area is a trading bloc that has no tariff, then Custom Union is where there is common level of trade barriers, in Economic unions such as European Union, the member countries have open national policies and a common currency (Euro). There are several forms of regional trade areas, varying according to the extent to which countries extend cooperation and provide concessions to their member countries. For …show more content…

Bilateral agreements are preferred over multilateral agreements due to ease of enforcement and require less negotiation. Zhai (2006) reports that the new PTAs in Asia agree on more that tariff and non-tariff policies, rather they include provisions on nvestment liberalization, services, assistance in trade and technical and economic collaboration. The graph below shows the drastic rate at which the number of PTAs are increasing. Benefits of PTAs The foremost reason for creating a PTA is to gain concessions in trade with member countries. Being in a PTA implies that the member countries will get preference over other non-member countries. This removal of barriers of trade has a number of inherent benefits. These can be in several forms, such as: • Economies of scale In countries that are located nearby each other, having preference can also benefit through lower transportation costs. Japan-Singapore Economic Partnership Agreement (JESPA) is an agreement in which both the nations have promised coordination in technology, regulatory, e-commerce, media and broadcasting, and human resources. This will benefit the multinational companies in both the countries because they can take benefit of economies of scale at regional level. • Tax benefits Countries in PTA agree to trade with member countries at low tariffs, but do not abolish them; this reduces the cost of trade. The loss of tax revenue from import duties can be made up by more trade and more taxes from

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