Creating the first-in-class clearing house for regional trade agreements around the world
Regional trade agreements (RTAs) have proliferated around the world in the past two decades alongside and independent of the multilateral trading system. By now more than 400 RTAs are in place and under negotiation, and several further ones are being negotiated, including the so-called “mega-regional” agreements, the Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement (TPP) and the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership agreement (TTIP).
Though RTAs are emerging as the center of gravity in global commerce, there is no one instance that would systematically bring together all relevant information on RTAs around the world, let alone encourage dialogue and sharing of experiences among the various stakeholders interested in RTAs, such as policymakers, think-tanks and private sector leaders.
Nextrade is changing this. In 2013, our CEO conceptualized, as a chair of the RTA group of the International Center for Trade and Sustainable Development (ICTSD) and World Economic Forum's E15 initiative, the "RTA Exchange", a first-in-class global clearing house of information on RTAs. RTA Exchange was unveiled by a global consortium (Inter-American Development Bank, Asian Development Bank Institute, and ICTSD) at the World Trade Organization ministerial meetings in Bali, Indonesia, in December 2013, and further discussed in August 2014 at the WTO. Nextrade Group is building the Beta version.
Download complete PDF on the RTA Exchange Idea here.