Trade bloc
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A trade bloc is a large free trade area or free trade area formed by one or more tax, tariff and trade agreements. Typically trade pacts that define such a bloc specify formal adjudication bodies, e.g. NAFTA trade panels. This may include even a more democratic and participative system, as the EU and its parliament.
Particularly since the demise of most of the world's empires, a number of international—generally regionally based—economic blocs have been developed to promote trade between member states.
Several blocs also have stated or implicit political goals—notably the EU. Varieties of economic blocs include free trade areas, customs unions, single markets, and economic and monetary unions.
One of the first economic blocs was the German Customs Union (Zollverein) initiated in 1834, formed on the basis of the German Confederation and subsequently German Empire from 1871.
A trade bloc is established through a trade pact (or pacts) covering different issues of the economic integration.
Contents
Most active regional blocs
It is possible that a country is member of two (or more) different blocs. To avoid overlapping for this classification such countries are only included in the most active of the blocs in question. The "activity" of each block is measured by the following three criteria:
- to have greater real practical achievements (not only declarations that are not followed by actual actions by its members)
- to have more recent (or regular) activities (meetings, new agreements, other internal procedures)
- to have more ambitious plans for future integration and a tighter timescale for it.
Priority is given to such regional blocs that have ambitions for integration in more spheres than just economy (i.e. political, defence and other spheres). Sometimes activities are divided between different (but related) blocs with small deviations in membership (e.g. NATO and EU members are almost the same).
Some colors on the map are used multiple times for different blocs. A darker color means full member; a lighter color means associate state, observer state, prospective member, candidate, acceding state or a similar status.
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- full members: Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, United Kingdom
- candidates: Bulgaria, Croatia, Macedonia, Romania, Turkey
- potential candidates: Albania, Bosnia and Hercegovina, Serbia, Montenegro
- free trade agreements with Faroe Islands (non-sovereign autonomous entity of Denmark) and Switzerland (EU-EFTA FTA) (see EU's FTAs)
- common market (EEA) with Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway
- customs unions with Andorra, San Marino, Turkey (see here)
- currency unions with Monaco, San Marino, Vatican City (see here)
- full members: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of the United Kingdom: Montserrat
- candidates: Dominican Republic (currently an observer)
- associate members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of the United Kingdom: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
- full members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cape Verde
- full members: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
- partners as ECCAS members: Democratic Republic of the Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe
- full members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- candidates: Yemen
- full members: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
- partners as SADC members: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
- partners as SADC acceding countries: Seychelles
- full members: Canada, Mexico, United States of America
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of the United Kingdom: Montserrat
- candidates: Dominican Republic (currently an observer)
- associate members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of the United Kingdom: Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Turks and Caicos Islands
- full members: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d'Ivoire, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo, Cape Verde
- full members: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
- partners as ECCAS members: Democratic Republic of the Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe
- full members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- candidates: Yemen
- full members: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
- partners as SADC members: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
- partners as SADC acceding countries: Seychelles
- full members: Canada, Mexico, United States of America
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon
- partners as ECCAS members: Democratic Republic of the Congo, São Tomé and Príncipe
- full members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- candidates: Yemen
- full members: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
- partners as SADC members: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
- partners as SADC acceding countries: Seychelles
- full members: Canada, Mexico, United States of America
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
- candidates: Yemen
- full members: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
- partners as SADC members: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
- partners as SADC acceding countries: Seychelles
- full members: Canada, Mexico, United States of America
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland
- partners as SADC members: Angola, Madagascar, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Zimbabwe
- partners as SADC acceding countries: Seychelles
- full members: Canada, Mexico, United States of America
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Canada, Mexico, United States of America
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka
- full members: Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgystan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
Cooperation in the framework of the bloc currently stalled and status in light of DR-CAFTA is unclear
- full members: Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
- full members: Fiji, Kiribati, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu
- full members, non-sovereign autonomous entities of New Zealand: Cook Islands, Niue
Under the umbrella of the African Union it is expected that ECOWAS, CEMAC/ECCAS, SACU/SADC, COMESA/IGAD and EAC will join into a common African Economic Community in 2019.
Other states or entities
- Europe:
- * Armenia, Azerbaijan: currently little probability to join any bloc, weak EU links (European Neighbourhood Policy)
- * Georgia, Moldova, Ukraine: strong desire to join the EU (European Neighbourhood Policy)
- * Greenland (non-sovereign autonomous entity of Denmark): left the EU in 1985; status regarding FTA and customs union unclear.
- Arab States:
- * Iraq: aiming at GCC membership, but also possibility for Agadir
- * Palestine: problems with status, prospective member for Agadir
- * Sahrawi Republic: problems with status, member of the African Union, general possibility for Agadir
- West Asia:
- * Iran: has applied to full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
- * Turkmenistan: self-imposed isolation, possibility for EurAsEC if it chooses to engage with international organizations
- * Israel: isolated by its neighbours, European Neighbourhood Policy cooperation only
- East Asia:
- * China: member of Shanghai Cooperation Organization and ASEAN Plus Three
- * Japan: member of ASEAN Plus Three
- * South Korea: member of ASEAN Plus Three
- * Mongolia: has applied to full membership of Shanghai Cooperation Organization
- * North Korea: isolated because of political system
- * Taiwan: problems with status, cooperation at WTO level under the name of Separate Customs Territory of Taiwan, Penghu, Kinmen and Matsu, affiliation with Japan and South Korea
- Oceania:
- * Australia, New Zealand (CER): associate members of PARTA, affiliation with NAFTA
- Latin America:
- * Cuba: mostly isolated because of political system, possibility for CARICOM or CACM
- * Panama: US dollar serves as parallel legal tender, possibility of engaging with CSN or CACM
Comparison between regional blocs
| Activities | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Regional bloc | Free Trade Area | Customs Union | Economic and monetary union | Free Travel | Political pact | Defence pact | Other | |||
| Single Market | Currency Union | Visa-free | Border-less | |||||||
| EU | in force 2 | in force | in force | in force 1 | in force | in force (Schengen 1 and CTA 1) | in force | in force (NATO 1 and CFSP/ESDP 1) | ESA 1 | |
| CARICOM | in force | in force | in force 1 | in force 1 and proposed common | in force 1 | ? | proposed | |||
| ECOWAS | in force 1, 3 | in force 1 | ? | in force 1 and proposed for 2009 1 and proposed common | in force 1 | proposed | proposed | in force | ||
| CEMAC | in force | in force | proposed | in force | proposed | ? | in force | |||
| EurAsEC | proposed | proposed | proposed | in force [link] | in force 1 | |||||
| EAC | in force | in force | proposed for 2009 | proposed | ? | proposed for 2010 | ||||
| CSN | MERCOSUR | in force | in force | ? | in force | |||||
| CAN | in force | in force 1 | ? | in force | ||||||
| Common | proposed for 2014 4 | proposed for not after 2019 | proposed for 2019 | proposed for 2019 | proposed for 2019 | ? | proposed for 2019 | |||
| GCC | in force | in force | proposed for 2007 | proposed for 2010 | ||||||
| SACU | in force | in force | proposed for 2012 | de-facto in force 1 and proposed common for 2016 | proposed [link] | |||||
| COMESA | in force 1 | proposed for 2008 | ? | proposed for 2025 | ||||||
| NAFTA | in force | |||||||||
| ASEAN | in force 5 | ? | proposed | ? | proposed for 2020 | |||||
| SAARC | in force 6 | |||||||||
| Agadir | in force | |||||||||
| CACM | proposed | proposed | ||||||||
| PARTA | ||||||||||
| AEC (for reference) | proposed for 2019 | proposed for 2019 | proposed for 2023 | proposed for 2028 | proposed for 2028 | |||||
2 involving goods, services, telecommunications, transport (full liberalisation of railways from 2012), energy (full liberalisation from 2007)
3 telecommunications, transport and energy - proposed
4 sensitive goods to be covered from 2019
5 least developed members to join from 2012
6 least developed members to join from 2017
See also
- List of trade blocs
- List of Free Trade Agreements
- Globalization
- Anti-globalization movement
- World Trade Organization
- List of international trade topics
- International organisation
- World Economy
- Economy of Africa
- Economy of Asia
- Economy of Europe
- Economy of North America
- Economy of Oceania
- Economy of South America
References
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