The WTO is one of the most effective trade agreements between nations. In 1995, the WTO replaced the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT) and has 125 Member States. 153 members are currently members of the WTO. Many believe that GATT began rapid trade liberalization in 1947 and that its action contributed to the expansion of trade around the world by removing tariffs and quotas. In addition, the WTO pursued the GATT principle with a more multilateral forum for governments to conclude or challenge trade agreements. Regional economic integration has not been as successful in Asia as in the EU or NAFTA, with most Asian countries relying on US and European markets for export. [2] Founded in 1967, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) consisted of Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam. The ASEAN Free Trade Area (AFTA), officially established in 1993, was expected to reduce tariffs on inter-regional trade to a maximum of 5% by 2008. [2] ASEAN is the third largest free trade agreement in the world after the EU and NAFTA and through MERCOSUR. Established in 1989, the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) is expected to foster multilateral economic cooperation on trade and investment in the Pacific. [3] APEC consists of 21 countries bordering the Pacific; Progress towards free trade is hampered by the size and geographical distance between Member States and the absence of a treaty. Integration is a political and economic agreement between countries that favours Member States. [1] General integration can be achieved in three different ways: the World Trade Organization (WTO), bilateral integration and regional integration.

[1] In the context of bilateral integration, only two countries cooperate economically, while regional integration brings together several countries at the same geographical distance from organizations such as the European Union (EU) and the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). Indeed, mobility factors such as capital, technology and labour, as well as the strategies of transnational integration mentioned above, are highlighted. NAFTA aims to remove customs barriers and liberalize investment opportunities and trade in services. NAFTA includes Canada, Mexico and the United States, where they came into force in 1994. The United States and Canada have had different forms of mutual economic cooperation in the past. They signed the Canada-U.S. Free Trade Agreement effective January 1, 1989, which eliminated all tariffs on bilateral trade as of January 1, 1998. In February 1991, Mexico approached the United States to conclude a free trade agreement. Canada was also involved in the formal negotiations that began in June 1991.