Regional Trade Agreements. Are they Building Blocks or Stumbling Blocks?

Regional economic integration means agreements between countries in a geographic region to reduce / remove barriers to trade. Rationale is consistent with comparative advantages.
Building Blocks:
1. Provides impetus for trade talks. Regionalism can even help to promote liberalization in small or developing countries that may hold doubts about freer trade and the benefits it holds for them.
2. Free trade in regions is better than none at all. At least those countries in R.T.A.'s are moving towards free trade between them. So at least free trade is an achievable goal and this is better tha…