At a meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade Agreements (CRTA) on 29
October, WTO members considered five regional trade agreements (RTAs) among
members as well as three involving non-members. They also took note of new RTA
notifications and adopted the Committee's annual report for 2026.
·
Review of Trade Agreements: The WTO Committee on Regional Trade
Agreements (CRTA), at its meeting on 29 October 2026, considered five Regional
Trade Agreements (RTAs) among WTO members and three agreements involving
non-members.
·
Annual Report Adopted: WTO members adopted the Committee's Annual
Report for 2026.
·
Meeting Frequency Confirmed: Members agreed to continue holding
three Committee meetings annually, following a successful two-year trial
period.
·
. New RTA Notifications: The Committee took note of notifications
relating to several trade agreements, including:
o
Israel–Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA).
o
Ukraine–United Arab Emirates Comprehensive Economic Partnership
Agreement.
o
UK–India Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA).
o
UK accession to the CPTPP for Mexico and Canada.
o
Pacific Alliance–Singapore Free Trade Agreement.
o
Hong Kong, China–Peru Free Trade Agreement.
o
EFTA–Kosovo Free Trade Agreement.
o
EFTA–MERCOSUR Free Trade Agreement, with entry into force for
Iceland and Brazil.
·
RTAs Among WTO Members: Members examined five agreements,
including EU–Kenya, EU–Chile, EFTA–Moldova, Ukraine–Kazakhstan and
Israel–Colombia trade agreements, based on factual presentations prepared by
the WTO Secretariat.
·
Agreements Involving Non-Members: Three agreements involving the
European Union, the United Kingdom, the Faroe Islands and Kosovo were also
considered.
·
Timely Notifications: The Committee Chair, Ambassador Clara
Manuela da Luz Delgado Jesus of Cabo Verde, urged members to submit timely
notifications, highlighting the considerable number of RTAs that remain
unnotified.
·
Next Meeting: The next meeting of the Committee on Regional Trade
Agreements is scheduled for 9 March 2027.
[ABS News Service/02.11.2026]
The Chair of the Committee,
Ambassador Clara Manuela da Luz Delgado Jesus of Cabo Verde, announced that
this was her last meeting as Chair of the Committee due to her return to
capital. She urged members to continue to make timely notifications, pointing
to the considerable number of RTAs not yet notified.
Members adopted the annual
report of the CRTA for 2026 and discussed how frequently the Committee should
meet for deliberations going forward. They agreed on continuing to hold three
meetings per year, as tested during a just concluded two-year trial period.
The Committee took note of
the following notifications:
·
The
Israel-Viet Nam Free Trade Agreement (VIFTA)
·
The
Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the Government of Ukraine
and the Government of the United Arab Emirates
·
The
Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) between the Government of the
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the Government of
India
·
Entry into force of the accession
of the United Kingdom to the comprehensive and progressive agreement for
trans-pacific partnership (CPTPP) for Mexico
and Canada
·
Free
Trade Agreement between Hong Kong, China and Peru, goods and services
·
Free
Trade Agreement between the EFTA States and Kosovo1, goods and services
Members also considered five
RTAs among members based on factual presentations prepared by the WTO
Secretariat, with representatives taking the floor:
·
Economic
Partnership Agreement between the European Union and Kenya, goods
·
Interim
Agreement on Trade between the European Union and Chile, goods and services
·
Free
Trade Agreement between the EFTA States and the Republic of Moldova, goods and
services
·
Free
Trade Agreement between Ukraine and Kazakhstan, goods
·
Free
Trade Agreement between Israel and Colombia, goods and services
Similarly, they also
considered three RTAs with non-members:
·
Agreement
between the European Union and the Faroe Islands, goods
·
Free
Trade Agreement between the United Kingdom and the Faroe Islands, goods
·
Partnership,
Trade and Cooperation Agreement between the United Kingdom and Kosovo, goods
More information on these
and other agreements can be found in the WTO RTA Database.
The next Committee meeting
is scheduled for 9 March 2027.