A free trade agreement (FTA) or treaty is a multinational agreement under international law to create 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 creation of free trade zones is seen as an exception to the nation`s most privileged principle (MFN) in the World Trade Organization (WTO), since the preferences that parties to a free trade area accord exclusively to each other go beyond their membership obligations. [9] Although GATT Article XXIV authorizes WTO members to establish free trade zones or to conclude interim agreements necessary for their establishment, there are several conditions relating to free trade zones or interim agreements leading to the creation of free trade zones. However, it should not be understood that trade between developing countries is not encouraged. My point is that these countries need to put their development goals above their regional commitments. Developing countries need machinery, foreign direct investment (FI) for the exploitation and transformation of their natural resources. I do not see how another developing country will help in this case. Developing countries should negotiate trade agreements with developed countries capable of investing in the exploitation and transformation of the developing country. The WTO can help secure an agreement on trade in natural resources that protects investors, human rights and the environment and deter heads of state and government in developing countries from transforming the principle of sustainable sovereignty over natural resources into the principle of personal sovereignty over natural resources.
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