REGIONAL TRADE AGREEMENTS VS. WTO: LEGAL OVERLAPS AND CONFLICTS
Keywords:
Keywords: Regional Trade Agreements; WTO; Article XXIV; GATS Article V; rules of origin; dispute settlement; transparency; TRIPS-plus.Abstract
Abstract:The past three decades have seen an unprecedented flourishing and deepening of Regional Trade Agreements (RTAs). The World Trade Organization (WTO) recognizes RTAs as exceptions to Most-Favoured-Nation (MFN) treatment under GATT Article XXIV, GATS Article V and the 1979 Enabling Clause. Yet practical and doctrinal tensions have grown as RTAs now often include “WTO-plus” and “WTO-extra” obligations, complex rules of origin (RoO), separate dispute settlement systems, and are sometimes unnotified or left under review by WTO bodies. This article highlights six main problem areas where RTAs overlap with and sometimes challenge the WTO legal framework: (1) textual vagueness and interpretation of WTO exceptions (Article XXIV/GATS V/Enabling Clause); (2) the empirical rise of preferential trade and erosion of MFN; (3) rules of origin and their protectionist or distributive effects; (4) notification and transparency gaps that weaken WTO oversight; (5) parallel dispute settlement mechanisms and resulting jurisprudential fragmentation; and (6) WTO-plus / TRIPS-plus content with implications for development. Each section combines doctrinal analysis, official data, WTO jurisprudence, and recent state practice (including Uzbekistan’s regional positioning) to propose clear, legally-feasible reforms aimed at aligning regional dynamism with multilateral coherence.
References
References
Primary WTO and multilateral sources
1. WTO — Regional Trade Agreements (RTA) Tracker / RTA facts & figures (RTA Section, WTO Secretariat), RTA database and RTA Facts & Figures (as of 30 June 2025). (See WTO RTA gateway / RTA facts & figures PDF).
2. GATT 1994, Article XXIV; Understanding on the Interpretation of Article XXIV (WTO Legal Texts).
3. GATS, Article V (Economic Integration). WTO legal text and Secretariat guidance.
4. Decision of 28 November 1979 — Differential and More Favourable Treatment, Reciprocity and Fuller Participation of Developing Countries (the “Enabling Clause”). WTO legal texts.
5. WTO — Dispute Settlement: gateway and statistics (as of end-2024 / 2025: 631 requests for consultations; 641 disputes referred since 1995; over 350 rulings). WTO DSU gateway and statistics pages.
6. WTO — Multi-Party Interim Appeal Arbitration Arrangement (MPIA) and related arbitration procedures (communication JOB/DSB/1/Add.12; arbitral awards & agreed procedures: WT/DS611/ARB25, WT/DS591/ARB25, etc.
7. WTO — Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) and Transparency Mechanism; CRTA annual reports and procedural materials (notifications and compliance logs).
Major datasets, studies and policy reports
8. World Bank — Handbook of Deep Trade Agreements (DTA) and DTA database (Deep Trade Agreements project; templates; RoO data).
9. UNCTAD — Key Statistics and Trends in Trade Policy 2022–2023 (reports on PTA coverage and share of trade under PTAs).
10. Bruegel — The problem with preferential trade agreements (policy brief, 2023
Selected WTO dispute and jurisprudence authorities
11. WT/DS34 — Turkey — Restrictions on Imports of Textile and Clothing Products (Panel and AB Reports, 1999). WT/DS34/R and WT/DS34/AB/R.
12. WT/DS308 — Mexico — Tax Measures on Soft Drinks and Other Beverages (Panel and AB Reports, 2006).
13. WT/DS457 — Peru — Additional Duty on Imports of Certain Agricultural Products (Panel and AB Reports, 2015).
14. WT/DS453 — Argentina — Measures relating to trade in goods and services (Appellate Body report, 2016).
Health, IP and TRIPS literature
15. WTO Secretariat — TRIPS and Public Health: Factsheets / Technical Reports; Doha Declaration (2001) materials.
16. WHO / academic literature on TRIPS-plus impacts on medicine prices and access (WHO technical reports; peer-reviewed studies; policy analyses).
Books and doctrine
17. Bhagwati, Jagdish N., Termites in the Trading System: How Preferential Agreements Undermine Free Trade (Oxford University Press, 2008).
18. Baldwin, Richard & Low, Patrick, Multilateralising Regionalism (Cambridge University Press / World Bank collaborations, assorted dates).
19. Van den Bossche, Peter & Zdouc, Werner, The Law and Policy of the World Trade Organization, 4th ed. (Cambridge University Press, 2017).
National / regional legal instruments and practice (examples cited in the text)
20. Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU), Article 207 (Common Commercial Policy). (EU competence over FTAs).
21. United States Trade Act and Trade Promotion Authority statutes (statutory framework for US FTA negotiation and oversight).
22. Uzbekistan — official government releases re: bilateral FTAs (e.g., Uzbekistan–Turkmenistan free trade regime entry into force, 25 February 2025); Uzbekistan’s PTA/FTA listings (ADB/ARIC, national press).
