Online Research Documents General documents relating to regional trade agreements carry the WT/REG document code. As part of the Doha Agenda trade negotiations mandate, they use TN/RL/O (additional values needed). These links open a new window: Allow a moment for the results to appear. It is also important to note that a free trade agreement is a reciprocal agreement that is authorized by Article XXIV of the GATT. Autonomous trade agreements for developing and least developed countries are permitted by the 1979 decision by the signatories of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) («empowerment clause») on differentiated and more favourable treatment, reciprocity and increased participation of developing countries. It forms the legal basis for the WTO`s Generalized Preference System (GSP). [13] Free trade agreements and preferential trade agreements (as mentioned by the WTO) are considered an exception to the MFN principle. [14] At the international level, there are two databases of access to free movement that have been developed by international organizations for policy makers and businesses: in general, trade diversion means that a free trade agreement would divert trade from more efficient suppliers outside the zone to less efficient in the territories. Whereas the creation of trade implies the creation of a free trade area that might not otherwise have existed. In any case, the creation of trade will increase a country`s national well-being.

[15] The Market Access Card was developed by the International Trade Centre (ITC) to support companies, governments and market access researchers. The database, which is visible through the market access map online tool, contains information on tariff and non-tariff barriers in all active trade agreements that are not limited to those that are officially notified to the WTO. It also documents data on non-preferential trade agreements (for example. B generalized preference regimes). Until 2019, Market Access Map has provided downloadable links to text contracts and their rules of origin. [27] The new version of the Market Access Map, which will be released this year, will provide direct web links to relevant contract sites and connect to other ITC tools, particularly the rules of the original intermediary. It is expected to become a multi-purpose instrument to help companies understand free trade agreements and qualify for the original requirements under these agreements. [28] A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is an agreement in violation of international law for the creation of a free trade area between cooperating states. Free trade agreements, a form of trade pacts, set tariffs and tariffs on imports and exports by countries, with the aim of reducing or removing barriers to trade and thereby promoting international trade. [1] These agreements «generally focus on a chapter with preferential tariff treatment,» but they often contain «trade facilitation and regulatory clauses in areas such as investment, intellectual property, public procurement, technical standards, and health and plant health issues.» [2] The results of studies show that the number of free trade agreements is increasing year by year.

This is evident from the statistics: 124 such agreements were notified to the WTO until 1995. On 15 January 2012, the World Trade Organization registered 319 free trade agreements. It should be noted that with regard to the qualification of the original criteria, there is a difference in treatment between inputs originating and outside a free trade agreement. Inputs originating from a foreign party are normally considered to originate from the other party when they are included in the manufacturing process of that other party. Sometimes the production costs generated by one party are also considered to be those of another party. The preferential rules of origin generally provide for such a dif